On Thursday 21 October 2021, Nairobi City Stars put aside six straight losses to Wazito FC, to register a 3-1 win at Thika Stadium during a match day three tie in the 2021/22 FKF Premier League.
All four goals were scored within a 13-minute blitz towards the end of the game.
“This was a game where the first team to score would go on to win it,’ added field skipper Anthony Muki Kimani
“That explains why we had an early purpose and were in their box severally within the opening minutes of the game. But their keeper (Lazarazu Bixente) did very well saving most of our attempts and keeping them in the game,”
“After the early misses, we had to regroup to score that first goal that eventually got us to the first-ever win,”
“Last season Wazito did a double on us and this time we were more than determined to stop that trend from the seasons before.” added Muki
— Official Nairobi City Stars Fc (@NrbCityStars) October 21, 2021
Stopper Kenedy Vidic Onyango scored the opening goal on 76 minutes – his maiden goal at City Stars – with a power header off Dennis Wanjala’s freekick.
That opened the floor for Timothy Babu Ouma to double matters just two minutes later in what was his third goal in as many matches.
Rodgers Okuse Okumu added the final one a minute to time. Eric Ombija provided assists for the last two goals.
Wazito’s consolation came between the second and third goals via Michael Owino who had a touch to Amos Asembeka’s long shot in the 81st minute.
Muki clocked the first 67 minutes in the game. He handed over the armband to Onyango after Charles Chale Otieno took up his place on the pitch.
Head coach Nicholas Muyoti has named his 20-man squad for the 2021-22 FKF Premier League season opener away to Wundayi against home team Sofapaka on Sunday 26 September 2021.
Left-footed Herit Mungai, striker Ebrima Sanneh, forward Davis Agesa, stopper Wycliffe Otieno, attacking-mid Oliver Maloba, and winger Azizi Okaka, who has since left the club, are some of the players missing the trip.
In their place are, other than Wanjala, left-footed John Kamau, utility back Edwin Buliba, field skipper Anthony Muki Kimani, forward Vincent Otieno Jamaica Okoth, overall captain Calvin Masawa, as well as striker Nicholas Kipkirui and right back Kevin Chumsy Okumu.
The January visit had seen Buliba and Muki miss out due to a thigh and shoulder injury, respectively, as Masawa, Kamau and Jamaica stayed back for tactical reasons. Chumsy and Kipkirui were yet to join the team.
Nairobi City Stars returned to the Kenyan Premier, for the first time in four years, to feature in the 2020/21 topflight season.
Summed up, here’s Simba wa Nairobi’s season in numbers:
0 (zero)
Points collected from Wazito and KCB all season.
Number of goals scored from corners, and conceded
1
Number of goals scored by stopper Salim Shitu Abdallah during the first game of the second leg as City Stars whipped Sofapaka 3-0
Times Shitu was named Player of the Week; after round 18 game against Sofapaka. He was the only City Stars player to be named Player of the Week this season.
Points earned from Bidco United and outgoing champions Gor Mahia
Times Sven Yidah made it to the team of the week (round 5)
2
Goals scored by fullbacks Bolton Omwenga and Kevin Chumsy Okumu, as well as roving forwards Oliver Maloba and Rodgers Okuse Okumu
Penalties saved by keeper Stephen Njunge; against Nzoia Sugar in season opener and Kakamega Homeboyz in the second leg
Number of games Jimmy Bageya featured in during his sixth stint with the club. He exited in January
Points earned against Posta Rangers and Vihiga United
3
Number of MVP accolades earned by Kennedy Vidic Onyango
Starts by utility back Edwin Buliba. He completed two games on his debut Premier League season
Direct freekicks scored; by Peter Pinchez Opiyo (vs Ulinzi Stars) field skipper Anthony Muki Kimani (vs Tusker), Botlon Omwenga (vs Ulinzi Stars)
Times head coach Sanjin Alagic was named the coach of the week; after match days 18, 21 and 25
Points gathered from Kariobangi Sharks, AFC Leopards, Zoo FC, Mathare United, Kakamega Homeboyz and Sofapaka.
Most straight losses; match days 9-11 against Sofapaka (1-0), Kariobangi Sharks (2-1), Kakamega Homeboyz (2-0)
4
Goals scored by three of our strikers; Nicholas Kipkirui, Erick Ombija and Ezekiel Odera, as well as Muki
Number of MVP accolades earned by Muki, Shitu and Sven Yidah across the season. The second highest
Assists by Muki. Second highest
Times left-back Bolton Omwenga (rounds 18,20,25,29) and keeper Stephen Njunge (rounds 3, 13, 21, 28) made it to the team of the week
points scooped from eventual champions Tusker, Ulinzi Stars and Bandari
5
Times Peter Pinchez Opiyo was named MVP. The highest
Number of yellows collected by Pinchez, Shitu, Vidic, Chumsy and Muki
Number of 2-0 margin wins; vs Nzoia Sugar (H), Bandari (H), Mathare United (H), Ulinzi Stars (A)
Straight wins achieved at the start of the second leg. Was a new record never achieved in 12 previous premier league seasons between 2004 and, 2016.
Number of players who made their second premier league debut for City Stars; Maloba, Odera, overall team captain Calvin Masawa and Bageya – all of whom were part of the relegated team in 2016, as well as Muki who was returning to City Stars since 2009
6
Number of assists by bullish forward Davis Beast Agesa; one more than last season. The highest
Points collected in home and away games against Western Stima and Nzoia United
Teams City Stars met for the first time ever in the Premier League: Nzoia Sugar, Bidco United, Vihiga United, Zoo FC, Kariobangi Sharks and, Wazito.
7
Goals scores by Pinchez to emerge as the top scorer this season
Positional finish at the close of the season in the 17-team table
Number of games handled by John Amboko – the last set of games to season-end – after the exit of Sanjin Alagic due to expiry of his contract
Games earned by former Hakati striker Vincent Jamaica Otieno
8
Number of one-goal margin wins; 5 ended 2-1 [vs Zoo FC (H), Kariobangi Sharks (A), Western Stima (H), AFC Leopards (H) another three ended in 1-0 wins (vs Homeboyz (H), Nzoia Sugar (A), Tusker (A)]
Wins registered in 16 second leg games
9
Starts by teenager Timothy Noor Ouma aka Babu. He completed three games
Games completed by stopper Wycliffe Wiked Otieno and Davis Beast Agesa
Number of draws. Five ended as 1-1 [v Vihiga United (H), Posta Rangers (A), Ulinzi Stars (H), Bandari (A), Gor Mahia (H), and two each ended as 0-0 [vs Bidco United (A), Vihiga United (A)] and 2-2 [vs Tusker (H), Posta Rangers (H)]
Venues visited this season; Wundanyi-Taveta, Mbaraki-Mombasa, Moi Stadium-Kisumu, Bukhungu-Kakamega (once each), ASK Showground-Nakuru (twice), Narok Stadium (three times), Kasarani Annex and Utalii (seven times each) and Ruaraka (ten times)
Number of games City Stars failed to score; in five 1-0 losses to KCB (A), AFC Leopards (A), Sofapaka (A), Gor Mahia (A) and Wazito (A), and in 2-0 losses to Kakamega Homeboyz (A) & Mathare United (A), in 3-0 loss to KCB (H), 0-0 losses to Bidco United (A), Vihiga United (A)
11
Number of players that scored this season; Shitu, Omwenga, Chumsy (defenders), Sven, Maloba, Okuse, Pinchez, Muki (midfielders), Kipkirui, Ombija and Odera (strikers)
Clean sheets by keeper Stephen Njunge. The second best in the league
Starts earned by left back Herit Mungai. He completed nine
Games earned by striker Ebrima Sanneh who missed the first three months of the season due to ijury.
12
Number of players in the 30-man squad of the season that had no Premier League experience. 8 went on to make their bow
Wins amassed this season – two short of the tally of 14 – the highest ever in 13 premier league season achieved in the 2004/5.
15, 18 – number of times young keeper Elvis Ochoro and Jacob Osano, respectively, were named as reserves
22 – number of incomplete games by field skipper Muki. He started in 28 games but, as a tactic, exited in 21. He came on as a sub once.
24
Times Masawa stayed on the bench as a utility reserve. The most in the season
Times John Kamau was left out of the overall squad. he returned strongly to make the squad in the final six games of the season
25 – Average age of the squad that featured in the ended 2020/21 premier league season
29
Times Muki captained the team
Number of players used across the season
30 – Goals conceded this season: 3 freekicks (10%), 4 penalties (13.3%), 23 (76.7%) in open play
36 – Goals scored by 13 players. Distributed as follows; 1 own goal (2.8%), 3 freekicks (8.3%), 5 penalties (13.9%), 27 in open play (75%)
45 – Points amassed in the season from 12 wins and nine draws. Second best points haul since the 55 achieved over 38-games in the 2003-4 season
56 – Days apart from when City Stars played Tusker and Gor Mahia in match days 16 (20 Mar) and 17 (16 May). The long break was necessitated by coronavirus instigated lockdown
59 – number of bookings handed to players across the season; 56 yellow cards and 3 red cards
97% – Percentage of games earned by Vidic . He featured in 32 of 33 games only missing the one due to suspension. He clocked 2,868 minutes.
100% – Percentage of games earned by keeper Stephen Njunge. He featured in all 33 games – the only player to do so at City Stars – featuring in a record 2,970 minutes.
275 – Minutes clocked by defensive-mid Charles Chale Otieno across ten games on his debut season.
608 – Minutes clocked by roving winger Azizi Okaka in 12 games.
935 – Minutes clocked by teenager Timothy Noor Ouma, a Laiser Hill Alumnus, in 24 of 33 games on his debut season
1,012 – Minutes clocked by budding creative midfielder Elvis Noor Ojiambo across 25 games.
32,684-Cumulative minutes earned by 29 players in the season
500,000 (Kshs) – The bounty that was on the table had team finished in the top five
Narok Stadium will, for the second time in the 2020/21 premier league season, host a Nzoia United – Nairobi City Stars game, this time on Friday 25 June 2021 starting 3 pm.
— Official Nairobi City Stars Fc (@NrbCityStars) June 23, 2021
On 29 Nov 2020, City Stars hosted Nzoia at their venue, in their first premier league match since the 2016 season, following their promotion back to the top flight.
Nzoia were forced to hire Narok Stadium for this reverse game – 321 km away from their Sudi base – following a Government shutdown of their County, among other bordering ones, due to a spike in coronavirus numbers.
The November game was historic, as City Stars and Nzoia had never faced off in any competition. The upcoming tie will only be the second meet between the two sides.
Between then and now, there are slight changes to both setups for the Friday game; Peter Mwaura was the coach in charge of Nzoia during that first encounter but things have since changed and the man at the helm is former Kenya fullback Ibrahim Bura Shikanda.
Sanjin Alagic is still the man in charge for City Stars though in the upcoming tie his assistant John Amboko will step up to his role. Sanjin is currently on a short leave abroad and is expected to return at the weekend.
Heading to the game, Nzoia sits 14th in the 17-team log with 17 points while City Stars is sixth with 12 points on their Friday hosts.
— Betking Kenya Premier League (@Officialfkfpl) June 23, 2021
Nzoia has lost three of its last four games while City Stars has collected maximum points from a similar number of games.
While Nzoia will be hoping to return to winning ways, to end a six-game winless streak, City Stars will be going for an unprecedented fifth straight win to scale upward on the log into the top five.
— Betking Kenya Premier League (@Officialfkfpl) June 21, 2021
Grab all the live updates on the game via our social media handles; @NrbCityStars(Twitter, FB & IG)
Nairobi City Stars winger Vincent ‘Jamaica’ Otieno in a game vs Nzoia United on Sun 29 Nov 2020 at Narok Stadium in the 2020/21 FKF Premier League season opener. City Stars won 2-0 with goals from Anthony Kimani and Oliver Maloba
Nicholas Kipkirui’s goal in the 63rd minute is all Nairobi City Stars needed to knock out Kakamega Homeboyz 1-0 in a premiership match 21 tie at Ruaraka on Saturday 19 June 2021.
Kipkirui’s goal, his first ever in the league for City Stars, came from close range after a sure pass from substitute Davis Agesa.
Agesa had only been on the pitch for three minutes, together with Anthony Muki Kimani, having come on for flyer Rodgers Okuse Okumu and Erick Ombija, respectively.
They brought the impact that turned around the game as Muki raced down the right wing to float a ball goalward. It received a knockdown to Agesa who squeezed the ball for Kipkirui to send it home for his maiden goal past Homeboyz keeper Geoffrey Oputi who seemed unbeatable all evening.
The game could have taken a different dimension at the onset of the second half when Homeboyz won a penalty.
But City Stars keeper Steve Njunge pulled a massive save to deny Chris Masinza, ultimately changing the tone of the game.
?46’| Penalty Miss ❌
Masinza fails to convert from the Spot.
Njunge saves it?
— Betking Kenya Premier League (@Officialfkfpl) June 19, 2021
Homeboyz, playing their traditional high press game, made their intent evident as early as the eighth minute with a freekick from winger David Okoth. It bounced off the City Stars wall.
City Stars had a response in the 21st minute when left-back Bolton Omwenga dropped a freekick in the goal area. It was cleared out.
On either side of the two set-pieces, two Homeboyz players; Francis Omondi, a defensive mid, and stopper Sylvester Owino had been slapped with yellow cards for bookable challenges as physicality in the game began to show.
Off a foul, Okoth was at it again with a freekick on 27 minutes but it went straight to Njunge. Again, Bolton responded to it with one for City Stars at the half-hour mark. It smacked the crossbar and back into play in what was the closest chance for a goal by the home team.
There were two further freekicks by Homeboyz moments later but freekicks by stopper Thomas Wainaina and Francis Omondi failed to hit the target.
The tide then shifted City Stars way but on two occasions, once by Kipkirui, the ball missed crossing the line by a whisker off a volley with the keeper beaten.
The game then rolled to halftime with either side wasting a free-kick each.
Straight into the second half, City Stars gave the ball away in midfield and it landed on Okoth on the right wing who then sent a floater goalward. It earned a penalty that Njunge parried out. It was the second time this season that Njunge has saved a penalty, adding on to his heroics in the season opener against Nzoia United in Narok.
22 minutes into the second half Homeboyz threw in three fresh legs to chase the game. Allan Wanga, Shami Kibwana and Collins Odhiambo all came on for Masinza, Stephen Opoku and Wainaina, in that order.
In the minutes that followed, City Stars were in the Homeboyz area with Kevin Okumu dropping a cross to the box, Oliver Maloba cutting back for Muki, and Bolton troubling Oputi with a freekick. None of those occasions bore fruits.
Homeboyz were to throw in their final card as they searched for points by introducing Stephen Etyang for injured Ali Bhai.
Moments later Homeboyz should have been level when Okoth raced down the left flank, burst into the box to fire home only for his attempt to be cut out by eventual game MVP Njunge.
— Betking Kenya Premier League (@Officialfkfpl) June 19, 2021
The final minutes saw City Stars clean out the bench by bringing on Ezekiel Odera for Kipkirui, Elvis Noor Ojiambo for Maloba, and finally Wycliffe Otieno for Sven to protect the slim lead to the final minute.
With the win, that overturns a 2-0 first leg loss suffered at Bukhungu in February, Simba wa Nairobi now shoots upwards from eighth past Ulinzi and Bandari to settle at sixth spot with 29 points from 20 games ahead of Sunday games.
— Betking Kenya Premier League (@Officialfkfpl) June 19, 2021
Next up for Nairobi City Stars is a round 22 tie away to Nzoia Sugar on Thur 24 June at Sudi Stadium.
Lineups
Nairobi City Stars: 23. Steve Njunge (GK), 26. Bolton Omwenga, 25. Kenedy Onyango, 4. Salim Abdalla, 19. Kevin Okumu, 10. Peter Opiyo-Captain, 21. Oliver Maloba (2. Elvis Noor Ojiambo-89), 18. Sven Yidah (22. Wycliffe Otieno-90+), 24. Erick Ombija (30. Anthony Kimani-60), 7. Rodgers Okumu (11. Davis Agesa-60 ), 17. Nicholas Kipkirui (32. Ezekiel Odera-89)
Not considered: 6. Ronney Kola, 14. Rowland Makati (both on loan at Nairobi Stima), 1. Elvis Ochoro (GK), 3. Charles Otieno, 5. Wesley Onguso, 12. Edwin Buliba, 27. Azizi Okaka, 20. Timothy Noor Ouma, 15. John Kamau, 9. Vincent Otieno Okoth
Coach: Sanjin Alagic
Kakamega Homeboyz: 26. Geoffrey Oputi (GK), 6. Benjamin Oketch, 13. Thomas Wainaina (16. Collins Odhiambo-67), 15. Sylvester Owino, 20. George Odiwuor, 4. Francis Omondi, 24. Ali Bhai-Captain (7. Stephen Etyang-84), 15. Stephen Opoku (2. Shami Kibwana-67), 10. Moses Mudavadi, 22. Chris Masinza (14. Allan Wanga-67), 9. David Okoth
Unused subs: 32. David Juma (GK), 8. Stephen Mukongolo,
Coach: Nicholas Muyoti
Yellow cards
Nairobi City Stars: 23. Steve Njunge (90+)
Kakamega Homeboyz: 4. Francis Omondi (10), 15. Sylvester Owino (22)
