Posta Rangers assistant coach Collins ‘Korea’ Omondi has provided clarity on the unusual situation that saw winger Oliver Maloba substituted twice in their FKF Premier League clash against Mara Sugar FC.
The Mailmen hosted Mara Sugar in a match on Saturday, 15 November at the Kasarani Annex, which ended in a goalless draw.
One of the most striking moments of the game was Maloba being taken off just minutes before the 90th-minute mark, despite only coming on in the 67th minute.
During a post-match press briefing, Omondi explained the reasoning behind the decision.
“If you were keen, you would realise he (Maloba) had a lot of missed passes. We were chasing a win, and he was losing too many balls. By doing so, he was helping Mara Sugar to attack us, and so we had to get him off so that we maintain and improve our possession in the final third,” said Omondi.
In addition to the unusual substitution, former Wazito FC goalkeeper Bixente Otieno made his first start of the season after nine months on the sidelines, taking over from former Gor Mahia custodian Fredrick Odhiambo.
“He (Otieno) was our best goalkeeper last season, but had two concussions in the season that kept him on the sidelines for a long time. When he returned, we had a good goalkeeper (Fredrick Odhiambo) and could only change him if we had a bad run of results, which is how he started,” explained Omondi.
Posta began the season strongly, winning three of their first four matches and topping the league table after four rounds. However, the team is currently struggling, on a five-match winless streak.
Even amid the poor run of form, Omondi highlighted a silver lining from the draw against Mara Sugar.
“The positive is that we got a goal, unlike against Sofapaka when we neither scored nor had a shot on target.”