Boy! won't this penultimate round of the 2010 Kenya Premier League be intriguing? Ulinzi Stars, the unfashionable military side from Nakuru, are sitting pretty a top the league with 55 points. they can smell the crown, only four points away!
Ulinzi's next opponents, Red Berets, a paramilitary side also from Nakuru, are languishing at the wrong end of the table. fifteenth with twenty seven points, they are a whole three points from safety. They know that any slip up in their next match might be the proverbial last nail that would sink them to the lower league they fought so desperately to avoid last season.
It is due to this contrasting fortunes that the Ulinzi v Red Berets match-up promises to be a cracker. Even without such heightened stakes, encounters between the two are usually supercharged owing to their shared bases and backgrounds. throw in the elements of searching for championship vis a vis survival points and you have a match in your hands,
Though Ulinzi ran away with a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture played in March, I don't see a repeat of the same happening on 06 November. Red Berets have recently become masters of last minute survival and will be in no mood to play flower girls for Ulinzi, I anticipate a draw or win for Red Berets in this one.
It is not for nothing that Sony Sugar go by the nick name Gor B. Both Gor Mahia and the Sugar men draw their staunchest following from Luo Nyanza. Gor Mahia are the more successful of the two, with 12 premier league titles and a continental trophy among many of the achievements recorded by the club over a fairly long rich history. Sony have only one premier league championship and are not in the reckoning for the 2010 honours.
Will they play spoilers for Gor? Sony's last match was away to Ulinzi. They had vowed to 'help Gor win the league' but instead got a 2-0 hiding in Nakuru. The first round encounter between the South Nyanza outfit and Gor was drawn but I expect Gor to come with their guns blazing and bury this one.
They are in inspired form and for the first time after many years, they are within touch of the coveted trophy. Even more significantly, their fans have rediscovered their passion and pride and have literary willed the team to a victory or two with their incessant chants and vuvuzelas.
Ulinzi need not worry that 'Gor B' might throw away the match because the combined passion of Gor players and fans will ensure another sustained assault at Sony Sugar's goal mouth. Watch this space.
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