UNDER a severely flooded artificial pitch Eritrea pounced on a rare chance to score a 1-0 win over Kenya in the last match of the Cecafa Under-20 Championship at Asmara Stadium on Monday.Both teams had already qualified for the semi-finals and Eritrea topped the pool to go into a Wednesday clash with Rwanda while Kenya will take on Uganda on Thursday.

Tanzania beat Sudan 1-0 in an earlier match but both teams joined Somalia in going home early [Tuesday morning] after failing to garner enough points. Also going home were Yemen and Zanzibar from Group “B”.

Kenya, adjudged my many people as a stronger side technically, were completely unable to adjust to the horrible conditions, which some thought warranted postponement of the match. The ball simply could not roll through the "oceans" of water and the Kenyans were worse for it when they insisted on playing passing football. A competitive match in the early stages turned into a lottery farce.
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Just like a marathon race, the Kenya premier league is taking shape and likely winners are emerging. Ulinzi stars are in a two point slim league at the top with 39 points and a goal difference of 13. Ulinzi has won 10 out of their 21 matches and lost only 2. Tusker and Gor mahia share the second spot with almost nothing to separate the two sides. Both are on 37 points with a goal difference of 10. Both teams have won 10 and lost 4 out of their 21 matches. Gor mahia however has a better head to head record since their first leg match ended in a 1 all draw but the Gor won the second leg match 2-0. Sofapaka are placed fourth with 36 points and the league’s best Goal difference of 17. Sofapaka has won 9 and lost 3 out of their 21 matches played. The bottom position is occupied by Chemilil sugar on 19 points with a goal difference of -10. Chemilil has lost 10 and won 4 of their 21 matches. In position 15 is Mahakama with 20 points and a goal difference of -6. Mahakama has lost 9 and won 4 of their 21 matches. Not so safe also are posta rangers and Red berets who are in the 14th  and 13th  position respectively. Both have 21 points.

Leaders Ulinzi stars have a 2 point lead and seem prepared to do just about anything to protect their lead. This was evident as they battled to a goalless draw against defending champions SOFAPAKA on Sunday. Sofapaka looked good on paper but this did not replicate on the field. In the contrary Ulinzi had a bigger share of missed chances with veteran Tom Ogweno missing twice in the first half. Despite Sofapaka’s domination in possession the Ulinzi backline seemed un-perturbed by Sofapaka’s lethal striking combination of John Baraza, Bob Mugalia and Allan Wanga. In the end both teams settled for a single point with Ulinzi looking happy with the result. Ulinzi’s host Thika united on Saturday the 28th while Sofapaka play Mathare United on Wednesday at the Nyayo national stadium in a tough mid week clash.

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NYAYO NATIONAL STADIUM
SUNDAY 22ND AUGUST 2010
14:00HRS
This will be undoubtedly the weekends and probably the season’s biggest match as the current league leaders face off with the defending champions. Ulinzi stars are set to seek a win to consolidate their leadership on the table while Sofapaka will want to go back to where they belong, the top.

To make it even more interesting is the impact of the clash to  the five top teams in chase for the premier league title. A loss for Ulinzi will slow down the pace to the delight of the chasing teams and it may also gift Tusker the leadership of the league that they lost in the beginning of the second leg round of matches.

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KENYA looked extremely meticulous when beating Somalia 6-0 in Cecafa Under-20 Championship in Asmara on Thursday, assuming the stature of one of the clear favourites to win this edition’s title.

Coach Vince Ombiji had said in a pre-match interview that the Kenyans would revenge a recent humiliation by Somalia, of the Kenya Under-17 side in an African Championship qualifying tie. Somalia shocked Kenya 2-0 in Djibouti before tying 0-0 in Naivasha, Kenya, for the 2-0 passage to the next round.

The Kenyan management also backed off from the intention to send home Paul Were, the young talented Tusker FC forward who had ran into trouble here because of indiscipline.

Were only stuck around in Asmara because there was no flight to send him home until Saturday. Meanwhile the Kenyan camp reported that since Monday, Were had been “completely remorseful.”
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