In-form Posta Rangers were held to a 1-1 draw by AFC Leopards in a Football Kenya Federation Premier League match at Ulinzi Sports Complex on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
Leopards, who have been struggling for the majority of the season so far, grabbed an early lead when Kaycie Odhiambo struck in the second minute. The scorer made a superb connection to a corner delivery by Cliftone Moheso and slotted past Samuel Njau in Rangers’ goal.
Leopards’ chances
The lead was almost doubled in the 13th minute, but Maxwell Otieno, from a good position to score, sent his effort wide and therefore wasted a glorious chance to punish the luckless Rangers.
Ingwe kept Rangers in defensive mode for the opening minutes as they created chances after chances that would have given them a healthy lead before the quarter-hour mark.
In the 23rd and 24th minutes, Ingwe won consecutive corners, but all were cleared by Rangers. A chance for Victor Otieno came in the 25th minute, but his low shot was cleared for a corner again as the away side remained solid despite consistent attacks.
By the half-hour mark, two Leopards players had already been booked; Odhiambo was cautioned in the 24th minute before Humphrey Katasi received his yellow card in the 29th minute.
Vincent Mahiga and Boniface Munyendo combined for an ambitious attack, but the latter saw his shot go wide slightly as Rangers survived another scary moment in the 44th minute.
There was a counter-attack by Ingwe in the 43rd minute, with Yusuf Beja and Otino the key architects, but Miheso, the receiver of the final ball, sent his shot over the bar.
There were fears Beja would not play anymore after he suffered what appeared to be a head injury in the 54th minute. However, the former Nzoia Sugar star rose up and continued with the game after an intense medical checkup.
At the hour mark, Tomas Trucha, who has only one win since he took over, made two changes: Victor Omune and Jaffery Owiti came on for Victor Otieno and Miheso.
Katasi saved Ingwe from conceding an equalizer when he pulled off a good save from a Posta Rangers’ set piece just outside the box.
After surviving, Ingwe attacked and almost got the second, only for Samuel Njau to make a magnificent save and save Rangers from more blushes.
Rangers’ equaliser
Rangers, who were cautious while going forward, managed to equalise in the 68th minute. Brian Otieno delivered a good free-kick, which was tapped into the net past Katasi by Brian Marita.
The equaliser prompted Trucha to make more changes as he brought on Roonie Sichenje and Yassin Sije for Maxwell Otieno and Beja.
This could have given Leopards the second win of the season as Posta Rangers failed to grab maximum points and widen the gap with Gor Mahia.