Former champions Gor Mahia were among the weekend losers alongside Mathare United who also fell to their first loss of the season.
At the other spectrum Stewart Hall’s AFC Leopards seem to be flourishing, and they delivered another sumptuous performance to beat Nzoia United for a second successive win.
And it was relieve for defending champions Tusker as they finally broke their season duck, away to Chemelil Sugar, as did newly promoted Nakumatt who beat fellow rookies Zoo Kericho to claim their first three points of the season.
Western Stima coach Henry Omino: “Gor Mahia were better than us but my players made better use of the chances we created (beat Gor Mahia 2-1). The win is therefore good motivation for my players, especially after we lost our league opener against Sofapaka last weekend.”
Mathare United coach Francis Kimanzi: “We played poorly and conceded even from set pieces (lost 2-1 to Sofapaka). That is very worrying and I am very disappointed because the two goals we conceded came out of poor individual mistakes.”
AFC Leopards coach Stewart Hall: “This game and our first match (against Nakumatt) have been two totally different performances (beat Nzoia Sugar 2-1). Against Nakumatt, we won because we were stronger. We dominated the game. But today we have won because of hard work and determination. The boys fought very hard and I cannot ask for more from them. We had to dig deep into our reserves to get the correct formula against Nzoia. Right now, it is all about rest and recovery because we have another difficult match coming in four days.”
Kariobangi Sharks coach William Muluya: “Despite the loss, I think that there has been massive improvement in the team’s performance today (lost 1-0 to Ulinzi Stars). Unlike the previous games, we didn’t concede in the first half and we created more chances. We are learning and growing.”
Sofapaka coach Sam Ssimbwa: “It had been a one-man show for a long time now, but now things are different (beat Mathare United 2-1). The boys are better motivated with bigger allowances and better salaries because of the coming of a new sponsor. We started the league with a loss but now we have won two matches in a row so we are on a good course. I think we should now look into improving tactical approaches to the game so that we can win with even bigger margins.”
Ulinzi Stars coach Benjamin Nyangweso: “We have kick started the season with a win, and I am happy for that (beat Kariobangi Sharks 1-0). Today’s performance is similar to what happened to us against Smouha. We created so many chances and converted less than half of them. The score line does not reflect our superiority, but I am contented with the three points.”
Nzoia Sugar coach Bernard Mwalala: “Yes, we have lost the game, but not because of poor performance (lost 2-1 to AFC Leopards). My players did well and we should have scored more than three goals today. The loss is just a minor setback. It is still early days in the league.”
Posta Rangers coach Sammy Omolo (Posta Rangers coach): Getting a point away is not a bad result for me (drew 1-1 with Kakamega Homeboyz). I wanted to win against Homeboyz, but they are also a good team. We conceded because of a concentration lapse in defense in the final moments. Painful, but this is football. We live to fight another day.”
Kakamega Homeboyz coach Mike Mururi: “Our lead striker (Ali Bhai) got injured early in the match, and that meant that we had to change our tactical approach to the game very early (drew 1-1 with Posta Rangers). That greatly affected our play somehow. We had to adjust quickly and with such quality opposition it was not easy. We conceded, but give it to the boys for fighting and not giving up.”
