Round six of the 25/26 SportPesa League started on Tuesday afternoon with Mara Sugar blowing a two-goal lead to end up drawing 2-2 away to Sofapaka at the Dandora Stadium.
David Owino and Timothy Ndayala had given Mara the lead with two second-half goals before Stanley Lugalia reduced the deficit on the 72minute.
Late drama ensued in the match when Joseph Kuloba rescued a point for the hosts with a late leveler deep in injury time.
The result continues the streak of draws in the fixture, with the two teams playing to a draw in each of the three matches they’ve faced each other.
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It also meant that Batoto Ba Mungu have now collected a point at home in the 2025/26 season after back-to-back losses to Gor Mahia and Kakamega Homeboyz.
For the millers, they extend their unbeaten run to three matches with a second consecutive draw. (1W 2D).
How Sofapaka vs Mara Sugar SportPesa League match played out
After a largely uneventful first half, Mike Isabwa came close to giving Mara the lead in the fifty-fifth minute, but his shot hit the crossbar before going wide.
Two minutes later, their pursuit would earn dividends as David Owino received the ball from Brian Ochieng’ and delivered a ferocious shot that hit the underside of the crossbar before crossing the line.
Ten minutes later, Ochieng’ once again turned provider, delivering a pinpoint pass to the unmarked Ndayala, who slotted home to extend the away team’s lead.
Four minutes after Mara’s second goal, two substitutes, Kuloba and Lugalia, combined to halve the deficit when Lugalia isolated Mara’s defenders and looped the ball over the goalkeeper for his first goal of the season.
The provider would then turn scorer, as a goalkeeping mistake by Stephen Otieno, in his first start of the season for Mara, left the ball for Kuloba, who pounced on it to level the scores deep into extra time.
In his post-match comments, Mara Sugar head Coach Edward Manoah believes goalkeeper Stephen Otieno should have done better in the match.
“If you look at how we conceded, that was a very cheap and easy goal. Otieno is experienced;he should have handled the situation better. I don’t know why he was wasting time in the first place,” he said.
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For Sofapaka head coach Ezekiel Akwana, the changes he made in the match paid off.
“When we made changes and Roy Okal went into midfield and Japheth Lihanda was withdrawn, that’s when we started dictating the play.
Then I introduced the two strikers, Kuloba and Lugalia, and we got the first goal, created a set piece, and we scored the second.”
Mara will welcome Bandari in their next Sportpesa League fixture on Saturday at the Awendo Green Stadium, while Sofapaka travel to face Nairobi United at Dandora Stadium on the same day.
