It was a weekend of derbies and one of the rivals failing to turn up. As Arsenal painted North London red a late tribute to the Queen of the United Kingdom who was an adherent supporter of the gunners, Parklands arrived early for their derby against Railway Wanderers FC. However, RWFC either underestimated the capability of Parklands or overestimated their ability to play two games in one day. They say football is a mental game and winning or losing is established before entering the pitch, and even before the whistle was blown Railways were nowhere to be seen, with no goalkeeper in sight the team struggling to fill in holes. Parklands were unbothered ready to fight tooth and nail against their opponents. In goal was Sam who has continued to provide safety and definitely giving Babu a run for his money. Finally, Babu has found competition for his no. 1 spot with evergreen Buffon finding the spot too hot to handle. Coach Waire went for experience at the back with Kamdam partnering Captain IQ who was making a return from his shoulder injury with Drury and Lefty providing comfort at the wing. Kamdam looked to prove that ball ni ya akili having failed to train for two weeks and attending full stop koroga prior to the derby. However, with the ever-assuring captain fantastic by his side nothing could go wrong with him. The two have formed the strongest partnership in Parklands since Conte and Giddy. Lefty demonstrating that form is temporary but talent is class was trusted by Waire to marshall the left back position, with Drury, handed a rare start at the back to deal with any pace in the game the coach hoped to turn his impressive practice display to the game. In the middle of the pack hakukua na kubahatisha as the coach went for an Ola affair with FCDM Masoni partnering the dancing rasta Ovi. Aggression and a passing maestro to finish it off. The firstest player in Parklands two touch Cooks had the opportunity to be creative and supply to Sisco the pinpoint crosses. Tiger started on the right hoping to add to his goals while Mark was given the difficult task of shutting down Adwert when PSC lost the ball and initiating quick counter breaks with his pace to support top striker Sisco. 30-goal-a-season striker Sisco the only player competing against Haaland looked to continue his fine form in front of goal. To avoid any form of unfair play PSC avoided shooting at the makeshift goalkeeper deployed by Railways Wanderers until an established goalkeeper was put in place. Ovi was quick to personalize the midfield controlling the tempo and setting up Sisco for attacks. As the pace picked it was only a matter of when the goal would come as PSC FC continued knocking on the doors of RWFC. Hayawai hayawai huwa and Masoni must have been regretting leaving his cuzo in his boot as he raised his hands in celebration having broken the scoring his second consecutive goal. A well-taken free kick was parried into the path of Masoni who took the offering and drilled the ball home. RWFC were quick to blame the goalkeeper terming it a fluke but for the second which arrived soon later, there was no mistake as Sisco won the ball drove into the box, and rocketed the ball into the top corner shutting up the home support, and sparkling jubilation among the yellow and blacks. RWFC were not taking the beating sitting down as they responded aggressively with Julio shifting from a defensive role to support in attack with his quick combination with Adwert looking to create something. When they sank that you are a rock in sinking sand, they must have been talking of the pairing of Kamdam and Captain Awareness as they had all the answers for the questions that RWFC possessed. So dominant was the center back display that it was clear that kufungwa itafanywa ni kufunga milango za gari watu wakienda nyumbani. With the center of the pack not yielding RWFC tried the wing with the youthful winger bombarded with instructions from the bench but despite all this went back to Drury’s pocket like the good boy he was. Lefty having made mince meat of his opponent was brought on a German to scare the Ghetto boy by the pale skin but Lefty was having none of this employing his street style to keep the German at bay. Cooks was combining effectively with Sisco with Tiger joining in the party as they raided the RWFC defense and should have had a cricket score by the end of the first half. Mark was having his effective drives into the box and was unlucky not to get into the score sheet however, he made to mistake getting into the referee’s book with a yellow card for unsportsmanlike language. RWFC had their manyunyu moment towards the end of the half hitting the woodwork and skying their shots confusing the KCB rugby pitch with the Utalii pitch. An anticlimax challenge on the goalkeeper during a goal kick was rightfully ruled out for a foul as that remained the closet that RWFC came to sniffing PSC post in the game. That ended the action of the first half, PSC on the high with RWFC finding it difficult to find their feet. In came Gitau for Kamdam, Waire the cutlass for Lefty and rock solid Droopy for Drury, the youngest player in the team Ogochee for Masoni, Top talent Yohanna Mtembezi for Ovi, twinkle toes Chubar for Mark, Heya for Sisco, Erico for Tiger and Mayele Jonathan for Cooks. Despite RWFC introducing their first-choice goalkeeper, PSC picked up from where they left off, the team even stronger than before. Gitau was more tenacious that Kamdam, Waire unforgiving at the back, and Droopy taking no prisoners it was getting harder for RWFC to attack. In the middle watu wa kuipaka, kuisafisha, na kuingarisha were pulling the strings with Johny and Ogochee playing with their eyes closed. Watu walikua wanachengwa at will, passes zinapigwa na ruler. Parklands were so good that the RWFC bench was afraid to be subbed into the game preferring to watch their fellows look for the ball with torches. Johny was so good that the RWFC bench started negotiating the best approach to coerce him to join their team. So good your opponents can only sing praises for you and wish you they were receiving the scintillating passes. It was Ogochee’s turn to show why he plays for the Nigerian under sixteen team with his deft cross ball finding Mayele with acres of space far wide, Jonathan displayed the essence of the mantra “calme” as he faced the goalkeeper and cold as ice squeezed the ball into the near post, it was like he had no blood flowing through his veins. 3-0 to PSC. With freedom in the middle Ogochee alikua anafanya zile vitu za tv, ukikuja vibaya unageuzwa ng’ombe ukule nyasi, mlami pia akaja avalishwa kanzu yake akajifunza adabu mpira is urefu. With the game getting more physical, Julio for RWFC went out injured with Steve also being at the end of an Adwert challenge with his landing aggravating his elbow injury. Ascofu Contagious had been scheduled for a 15-minute cameo but this was brought forward by the injury as the most experienced player in Parklands fold went into marshall the defense. It is hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle but try getting past Conte let alone score a goal against him. Droopy was keeping Mohammed Nyaoga at bay while Waire was having an enjoyable polite conversation with the German winger. Waire the player and not the coach was educating the German on the lessons he learnt while playing in Finland employing the rule of the shoe where if the ball passes the man shall not pass. A little massage was enough for Waire to hit a high five yellow cards reaching the number with the fewest games played. But what can I say, he takes no prisoners. The wings were proving extreme weapons as Johny found Erico wide whose pinpoint cross had Heya scoring his first goal for Parklands to make it 4-0 with a first-time finish. PSC was in dreamland throwing in Aboutrika and super striker Yego to bury a team that had already given up home. Adwert tried to make something happen in the midfield but he was not Rambo neither was he Arnold Schwarzenegger as the job proved too much for one man. PSCs were in wonderland as they created chance after chance with the RWFC goalkeeper standing tall to save the face of his team. PSC may feel had done getting less than thrilling and competitive RWFC and paying back by scoring 4-0 against the team. A masterclass in team management from the coach of the day Waire and effective team play for all 23 players who ensured a resounding win. With that, we pack our bags as the beach comes calling. Mombasani Twasija, wateja wako bandarini.
