Kipkirui off the mark as City Stars tame Kakamega Homeboyz at Ruaraka

Nicholas Kipkirui's second half goal is all City Stars needed to beat Kakamega Homeboyz in an FKF Premier League match played on Saturday afternoon at the Ruaraka Grounds.

Heading into the game, both teams were in great form. City Stars had won its last three games while Homeboyz had registered four wins in their last five outings. It was expected to be a tough match and it lived to the billing as it turned out to be a closely fought one.

Kakamega Homeboyz missed a penalty immediately after the restart and they were made to pay when Nicholas Kipkirui scored the lone goal of the game in the 63rd minute. Davis Agesa did all the work down the left wing before Kipkirui did the needful beating Godfrey Oputi from close range. The goal was Kipkirui's first in the league for the Kawangware based side.

The visitors nearly went ahead in the third minute through Benjamin Oketch whose free-kick nearly fooled City Stars keeper , Steve Njunge after taking a swerve, the custodian however recovered quickly with a finger-tip save. The visitors continued to raid in the early stages of the game and had a penalty appeal turned down in the 10th minute when Christopher Masinza went down under pressure.

The match slowly turned to a very physical affair with both teams trying to cancel each other out. It resulted to Francis Omondi and Sylvester Owino getting booked as the referee moved to bring the flaring tempers down.

City Stars slowly grew into the game and started to show more ambition going forward. Their best chance came in the 30th minute when they won a free-kick outside the area, Bolton Omwenga stepped forward to take only for his shot to come off the upright. Nicholas Kipkirui was denied by Francis Omondi who cleared the ball off the line in the 40th minute and moments later Homeboyz suffered another scare with a scrappy clearance.

Just before the break Homeboyz nearly broke the deadlock through Sylvester Owino, Benjamin Oketch squared the ball to the defender whose shot narrowly missed the target.

A minute into the second half, Homeboyz won a penalty after a handball inside the area. Christopher Masinza stepped forward to take but Njunge guessed the right way and denied him.

Unlike the first half where the game started on a high, the tempo slowed down after the interval as both teams deployed a more reserved approach.

Against the run of play, City Stars City Stars went ahead in the 63rd minute through Nicholas Kipkirui. Substitute Davis Agesa did all the work to set up the forward for his first league goal for City Stars.

As the clock ticked the chances dried up and City Stars preserved their advantage to pick three precious points. The win takes them to sixth in the log with 29 points.

"The match was hard and state of the pitch didn't make things better. We didn't create many opportunities today and generally it was difficult but the players did well under very difficult conditions. I also think missing a penalty was a crucial moment because had we scored I believe we would have defended well and won. This is now behind us, we go back to the drawing board and plan," Nicholas Muyoti said.

"It was a very tough game, Homeboyz is a tough team, powerful team, very aggressive , good in possession. They were much better than in the first leg when they beat us but we had much opportunities today. It was a good game, an amazing one for those who were watching. Wr now have 29 points, in sixth position and we go to prepare for our next game, " Sanjin Alagic said.

City Stars Starting XI: Steve Njunge, Kevin Okumu, Bolton Omwenga, Kennedy Onyango, Abdalla Salim, Sven Yidah, Peter Opiyo, Oliver Maloba, Erick Ombija, Nicholas Kipkirui, Rodgers Okumu

Subs: Jacob Osano, Wycliffe Otieno, Calvin Masawa, Ebrimaj Sanneh, Ezekiel Odera, Herit Mungai, Elvis Noor, Anthony Kimani, Davis Agesa

Kakamega Homeboyz starting XI: Godfrey Oputi, Thomas Wainana, Benjamin Oketch, Sylvester Wainaina, George Odiwuor, Francis Omondi, Ali Bhai, Stephen Opoku, Christopher Masinza, Moses Mudavadi, David Okoth

Subs: David Juma, Collins Odhiambo, Brian Eshihanda, Shami Kibwana, Allan Wanga, Stephen Wakanya, Stephen Etyang