Nairobi City Stars skipper Calvin Masawa reckons the club’s recent rise in games, win-wise, is directly attributed to defensive maturity that has seen the team shoot up to fifth in the standings.
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Nairobi City Stars had conceded in all games between matchday two and twelve, but has since dropped that tag to post three clean sheets – in identical 1-0 wins over Posta Rangers, Bandari, and Kakamega Homeboyz – in the last four games.
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Simba wa Nairobi has conceded just twice in the last five games compared to 13 goals shipped in from the prior set of five games.
In sealing the backline, City Stars has managed to piece up five straight wins matching a rare record set in the 2020/21 Premier League season. The contiguous run adds up to another win to make it six triumphs in the last seven games.
Masawa, City Stars longest serving player having joined back in the year 2011, talks up that improvement.
“First I thank God for the far he has brought us. It wasn’t particularly a good start for us due to the fact cohesively we were not that good,”
“We conceded a lot of goals although we were scoring in each game. We had to go back to the drawing board and come up with defensive strategies. That’s why we concede fewer goals, and of course, if you don’t concede chances of winning matches are high and the results can testify,”
“That has brought confidence in every player and to the entire team,” added Masawa.
City Stars started the season with a barren draw against Muhoroni Youth and had to wait till match matchday 13 in the 1-0 over the then log-leader Posta Rangers, to register the second clean sheet.
Incidentally, that second clean sheet arrived when Masawa clocked his first full game since early June 2023, against Nzoia Sugar in Kasarani Annex.
He has gone on to clock full minutes in three games thereafter, against Bandari, Ulinzi Stars, and Kakamega Homebyz to tally up 556 minutes this season in seven games.
Nairobi City Stars skipper Calvin Masawa in action on Sat 3 June 2023 against Nzoia Sugar during a matchday 32 tie in Kasarani Annex
Nairobi City Stars skipper Calvin Masawa with the ball against KCB’s John Mwangi during a 22nd round FKF Premier League tie in Kasarani Annex on Wed 5 Apr 2023. KCB won it 1-0