Stewart Hall hopes for 'perfect' send-off against Tusker

Departing AFC Leopards coach Stewart Hall hopes his charges will give him a perfect send-off with a win over champions Tusker in their SportPesa Premier League match at Kinoru Stadium in Meru on Sunday.

Leopards, winless in their last six matches, face a streaking Tusker side that has overcome a slow start to the season to move into third place, level on points with second-placed Ulinzi Stars and two points behind leaders Gor Mahia.

Having escaped from the jaws of defeat against Thika United last weekend, leaders Gor Mahia face Posta Rangers in another tricky league encounter at Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday before the league takes a three-week break to pave for international fixtures.

Hall hopes to end the rough patch of his seven-month tenure as Leopards manager with a win over the champions at Kinoru – which will be hosting its first league match in three years.

Nation Sport understands that Leopards are expected to name 56-year-old Romanian Dorian Marin as Hall’s replacement before the league resumes.
The fixture also marks Shafik Batambuze’s last match at Tusker, as he is set to join Tanzanian outfit Singida United next week.

At Nyayo, Gor tackle Posta – who lost their 11-match unbeaten run to Ulinzi Stars last weekend – in what is expected to be a closely contested match.
Last weekend’s draw with Thika further exposed Gor’s struggles this season and the 15-time champions will have to trade carefully against a Rangers backline that has only conceded four goals in 12 matches.

Coach Marcelo Ferreira knows nothing but victory will guarantee his charges the top spot before the break especially with Ulinzi taking on Chemelil Sugar on Saturday in Awasi. A win for the soldiers will see them leapfrog Gor to the summit of the standings on 27 points.

“It is not about who we are facing, it is about what is at stake. For us, that is winning every match regardless of who the opponent is,” Ferreira said.

“I am sure that we would have won last weekend (against Thika) if the referee would have been fair, but that is behind us. We need to stay on top so we definitely have to win on Sunday,” Ferreira told Nation Sport.

Still reeling from their 1-0 loss to Ulinzi last weekend, Posta coach Sammy “Pamzo” Omollo is out to make amends in this encounter.

Omollo said the loss to Ulinzi exposed the team’s weak points which they have worked on ahead of the Gor Mahia showdown.

“We lost to a big team, and that helped us identify what areas we need to work on. We won’t use the same strategy we did against Ulinzi. We shall try something new so that we don’t lose points again,” Omollo, who was the league’s coach of the month for April, said.

FIXTURES

Saturday:
Bandari v Kakamega Homeboyz (Mbaraki Sports Club, Mombasa)

Chemelil Sugar v Ulinzi Stars (Chemelil Sports Complex)

Nzoia Sugar v Sofapaka (Sudi Stadium, Bungoma)

Thika United v Muhoroni Youth (Thika Sub-county Stadium)

Sunday

Nakumatt v Mathare United (Ruaraka Grounds)

Posta Rangers v Gor Mahia (Nyayo National Stadium)

Tusker v AFC Leopards (Kinoru Stadium, Meru)

Western Stima v Kariobangi Sharks (Moi Stadium, Kisumu)

Zoo Kericho v Sony Sugar (Kericho Green Stadium)