Left back Titus Achesa has rallied his teammates to ensure they continue the winning run when they take on Nzoia Sugar away in Bungoma on Saturday. Sofapaka beat Bandari 2-1 before the international break two weeks ago.

“We played very well in our last game and picked up a lot of motivation and morale with the win. We are counting on that bounce to go to Nzoia and win and we want to continue with the same form. We are going for three points and nothing less,” the left back stated.

He further stated that the team has had marked improvement since the season began and believes they can only get better as they play more matches.

“Compared to how we started against Posta, there has been a lot of improvement in each game. The way we play and our ball handling has greatly improved and we will get better as the season wears on,” stated the defender.

Head coach Divaldo Alves says the team expects a highly attacking Nzoia Sugar when they face the sugar millers at their Sudi home ground in Bungoma on Saturday afternoon.

Alves says having analyzed Nzoia, he knows their strengths and weaknesses and the team has prepared aptly to ensure they contain them and go for a precious away victory.

“We are well aware of how they play. They have dangerous wingers with very high creativity with the wingers and fullbacks who love to join the attack. They are very fast and we need to be prepared well to go there and lock them not to play their usual games,” Alves said.

On how the win against Bandari has motivated the team Alves said; “It was very important in terms of points because we want to ensure that we are not far away from the top. It also gave us a boost of motivation and now the players believe that we can go to the top.”

Meanwhile the coach has given an update on who is available for the game against Nzoia.

Striker Kepha Aswani will be unavailable after only returning to training on Thursday following a bout of sickness. Midfielder Brian Magonya continues his rehabilitation after injuring his ACL early in the season.

Sofapaka defender and captain George Maelo says the loss against Tusker FC helped the team get back to hard work and admits it was the turning point and a real warning to the players that they must work hard.

After the Tusker loss, the team bounced back to beat Bandari 2-1 and Maelo says they should keep the same spirit heading to Saturday’s game against Nzoia Sugar in Bungoma.

“After losing the Tusker game, we came together as a team and realized where our mistakes are. We managed to regroup and bounced back to beat Bandari. Now we want to keep the winning touch and ensure we don’t repeat the same mistakes,” Maelo said.

He added; “The coach has made his philosophy very clear that as much as our long term target is to win the league, we have to go into each game at a time and play like a final.”

Ahead of the weekend game against Nzoia Sugar in Bungoma, Maelo has called on his teammates to ensure they keep the winning run on.

“We have a good squad now and as a team we have gelled quite well. We are confident that we have what it takes to win. We have analysed Nzoia very well and we know they are tough. However, they don’t have a very good record at home which I think is up to the pressure they face to win,”

“But again, they are a new team with new players who we don’t know much about. We have to be very cautious because sometimes these kinds of teams can really surprise you,”

Our goalkeeper Isaiah Wakasala has on Thursday morning lost his dear father after a long illness bravely borne. The senior Wakasala, also a footballer during his heydays had been responding well to treatment until his condition deteriorated on Wednesday night, leading to his unfortunate demise.

As a club, we stand with Wakasala during this difficult time and wish him and his family strength and God’s mercies as they mourn.

“We have received the news with a lot of sadness and we mourn together with him. We will support him and the family during this difficult time and they are in our prayers,” Sofapaka president Elly Kalekwa said.

“As a family, we are saddened with the passing of Wakasala’s father. We have been in the loop over his treatment and everything and I want to commend Wakasala for his strength during this time. As Sofapaka familia we will stick with our player at this time and give him all the support he needs to be strong and go through this tough period,” head coach Divaldo Alves said.

Skipper George Maelo added; “As a family we are together at this time. We will be there to comfort him and go through this tough period. As a team we stick together in good times and bad times.

Leading betting firm Betika has on Wednesday morning nrenewed its shirt sponsorship deal with Sofapaka to the tune of Sh35mn for the next one year. This is an increase of the previous Sh15mn per season the bookies were giving Sofapaka.

The deal was signed at a Nairobi hotel on Wednesday by Sofapaka president Elly Kalekwa and Betika Marketing Manager John Mbatia.

“We have been partnering with Sofapaka for the last few years and we are glad with the growth they have had and the benefits that have come from this partnership. We are ready to support them even more especially with our community initiatives,”Mbatia said during the launch.

Sofapaka boss Elly Kalekwa added; “We are glad to see the partnership with Betika growing, They came in at a time when we were facing difficult times and we were almost being demoted from the league due to club licensing issues. Through their input, our performance on the pitch has improved and we hope to do more and better. Our target this season is to fight for the title and this financial help they have given us will go a long way in motivating the players.”

Sofapaka skipper George Maelo said; “As players we are very happy with this new partnership because it had been a few difficult months but now things are looking good. When a player is settled on their minds, then it becomes easier for them to give their all on the pitch.”

The sponsors will not only fund the team’s activities for the next one year but have also undertaken to ensure fans stream back to the stadium to support Batoto ba Mungu.

We host Bandari fc at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos on Saturday 06th October 2019, for our round five KPL 2019/2020 league and this is our lineup as presented by our Head Coach Divaldo Alves and the technical bench.

Starting eleven include:

Isima Watenga .1
Willis Obayi .3
Faina Jacobs .6
Timonah Wanyonyi .7
George Maelo .8 (C)
Cersidy Okeyo .10
Peter Lwasa .11
Elli Asieche .16
Titus Achesa .20
Sammy Imbuye .25
Kepha Aswani .50

SUBSTITUTES
Richard Aimo .32
Philip Muchuma .9
Cornelius Lusaka .13
Brian Nyakan .14
Samuel Mutiria .17
Derick Wafula .22
Ronald Okoth .23

Sofapaka and Bandari will face off for the 19th time in a Kenyan Premier League match on Sunday in Machakos. The two sides have had contrasting starts to the season with Bandari currently placed second in the standings with eight points while Sofapaka are 12th with four.

Over the 18 times they have faced off  Sofapaka Carrie’s a s,right head to head advantage having beaten the dockers seven times, losing six while the rest ended in draws. 

Last season  Bandari came to Machakos and won 2-1 while the corresponding fixture in Mombasa ended 0-0. Overall  out of the nine home games Sofapaka has played against Bandari, Batoto ba Mungu have won four while the coastal side has picked maximum points three times.

There have been 41 goals scored between these two sides I  the 18 meetings with Sofapaka scoring 22 while Bandari have scored 19. 

Bandari will have two immediate former Sofapaka players turning out for them on Sunday; keeper Justin Ndikumana and winger Cliff Kasuti.

Ahead of Sunday evening’s tie against Bandari in Machakos, Sofapaka FC tactician Divaldo Alves hassled for the team to be more menacing in front of goal especially with last weekend’s loss to Tusker FC still, fresh in his memory.

The tactician decried the lack of goals despite the team getting many chances especially in the first half.

“We had so many chances to score and if we had converted them in the first half we would have been better and the result definitely would have been different. This is one of the things we need to do right. We have to ensure that we get chances and score. That is what we should do more against Bandari“ the coach said.

“We definitely don’t want to see the gap growing and it will be important for us to get three points. It will be a tough game but we have to bounce back“ Coach Alves said.

He is optimistic though that the players will, rise to the occasion and get a second win of the season. Sofapaka has won once, against Chemelil, and drawn once, against Ulinzi Stars.

In terms of injuries, Mohammed Kasirye who was substituted in the first half against Tusker is still not ready for a return. Brian Magonya and Mohammed Kilume are also still out while Cersidy Okeyo  has returned from illness.

After last weekend’s 3-1 loss against Tusker FC, Sofapaka captain George Maelo has reiterated that it will be imperative for the team to sound a response and pick three points against Bandari on Sunday.

The skipper has admitted the team was below par against Tusker and were punished for mistakes they should have avoided.

“We had a good first half but in the second half things were not okay. As the defense, we were not quick enough in reacting to second balls and we conceded three goals in the same way. We also created so many chances but could not finish,” Maelo said.

He added; “These are some of the things we have worked on in training and I believe everyone is focused on getting a win on Sunday. It will be a tough game because Bandari is also a very good side, but we want to get three points.”

The skipper has called on his teammates to dig in for a shift and avoid making the same mistakes they did at the start of last season, which led to a wide gap in the standings after seven games.

Our round four lineup for KPL 2020 as we play Tusker fc at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos on Saturday 28th September 2019 for the Sportpesa Premier League Championship as presented by our Head Coach Divaldo Alves and the technical bench

Starting eleven include:

Isima Watenga .1
Willis Obayi .3
Faina Jacobs .6
Timonah Wanyonyi .7
George Maelo .8 (C)
Peter Lwasa .11
Brian Nyakan .14
Elli Asieche .16
Titus Achesa .20
Muhammed Kasirye .27 
Kepha Aswani .50

SUBSTITUTES
Richard Aimo .32
Musa Malunda .5
Philip Muchuma .9
Ronald Okoth .23
Sammy Imbuye  .25
Ibrahim Kitawi .28
Allan Katwe .33