Makwata’s penalty makes the difference at the Annexe
It was the perfect debut for John Mark Makwata on Friday as his goal secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory for Mathare United against Ulinzi Stars at the Kasarani Stadium, Annexe.
The forward, who was signed earlier in the week from Bandari, made his debut from the start against his former team, and immediately showed why he was brought on board as he scored the only goal from the spot after 37 minutes.
The Kenyan international showed quick feet inside the area after a neat ball from fellow new signing Mike Oduor found him, and after twisting to beat his marker, was brought down to win the penalty, which he duly dispatched.
The win extended our unbeaten streak against Ulinzi to four games, but more importantly, got us back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats to Bandari and Murang’a Seal.
John Kamau’s men have moved up to 11th in the standings with 21 points as they concluded the first leg of Premier League fixtures.
John Kamau made three changes to the team that started in the 2-0 loss to Murang’a Seal last time out, with Isaac Omweri and Steve Kimari the other changes alongside Makwata.
With two of our latest signings combining for the goal, on the other end, it was the seasoned defence line, led by goalkeeper Kevin Ouru, that did enough against a determined Ulinzi side to secure the win.
Ouru made some crucial saves, especially in the final minutes, to secure his eighth clean sheet of the campaign.
The lads will now take some much-deserved time off before resuming training for next weekend’s showdown with Posta Rangers to start the second-leg.