SportPesa League novices Mombasa United continued to get a reality check in the top flight, suffering their second league defeat after going down 2-1 to Mara Sugar on Monday afternoon at Ole Ntimama Stadium.
The newly promoted side were chasing their maiden top-flight victory after kicking off their campaign with a 1-0 loss to Kakamega Homeboyz at Mbaraki Sports Club.
However, first-half strikes from Kelvin Mwavali and Alex Imbusia condemned them to another defeat, despite Laban Otieno netting a late consolation to hand the coastal outfit their first-ever goal in the top flight.
Meanwhile, the Sugar Millers collected their first three points of the season, taking their tally to four from two matches after opening their campaign with a 2-2 draw against 3K FC.
The hosts were the dominant side in the opening exchanges and, in the fifth minute, came close to taking the lead when Imbusia’s long-range effort from outside the box was parried away by Chigze Williams, who kept his side in the contest as Mara Sugar continued to pile on the pressure.
Four minutes after the half-hour mark, Mara Sugar finally broke the deadlock from a corner kick.
Winger Godrick Kaduka delivered a well-weighted cross into the box, where Mwavali rose highest to meet the ball and steer it past the goalkeeper to put his side ahead.
The coastal outfit’s inexperience at the top level soon became apparent, as they were caught napping at the back just ten minutes later.
Kaduka outpaced his markers before laying the ball off to Kepha Ondati on the right flank. Ondati then cut it back towards the edge of the box, where Imbusia made amends for his earlier miss by firing home to double his side’s advantage heading into the break.
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The midfield was an area where Abdi Moali’s charges struggled to assert themselves in the first half.
After the restart, however, they managed to dictate the tempo in that department but struggled to find the back of the net, with Otieno’s late strike serving as a consolation and a small positive to build on ahead of their next fixture.
For Mike Mururi’s side, they managed to preserve their advantage but ultimately failed to keep a clean sheet, with substitute Otieno pulling one back late on for the coastal outfit.
Mara Sugar will look to maintain their promising start to the campaign when they face Ulinzi Stars in Round Three, while Mombasa United will need to regroup ahead of Sunday’s clash against Kenya Police FC.
Mara Sugar vs Mombasa United line-ups SportPesa League, Round Two
- Mara Sugar: Joseph Ogenda, Joseph Okwenda, Drona Openda, Busaka, Ali Shariff, Kelvin Mwavali, Kepha Onditi, Victor Ngume, Alex Imbusia, Dennis Cheruiyot, Godrick Kaduka.
- Mombasa United: Chigzie Williams, Hakimu Msami, Ahmed Abdullah, Ramadhan Hamisi, Dennis Mabeya, Abdikarim Abdalla, Peter Abiola, Abdulrahman Mohamed, Rodgers Oporia, Adeyemi Mogbademu, Waziri Shentembo.