There are few rivalries that Parklands have like Seniors and after thrashing them twice, they had a bone to pick with PSC OOT. Coming with a 0-0 draw in Embu for PSC OOT was positive results albeit they did not know what Seniors had in store for them. A second away match at MoW grounds home to Seniors FC. A very motivated Seniors team that had rested its older players and brought in three teams of young energetic players. Problems started to emerge early on Parkland's side as two starting players Chubar and Lamkaddy were missing from before kickoff. In the absence of Rangnick Waire, coach Mwai was forced into quick substitutes of Jonathan making his debut and Dubiz joining in the attack. In goal was Babu, Mitch, and Mutua operating as fullbacks whereas Kamdam and Ogochee started as the centering pair. Karani got a start in the middle of the pack alongside Bassanga with Jonathan replacing Chubar in the attacking midfield role. Cooks and Doobiz took the flanks while Captain Collo led the attack. It only took a minute for PSC to realize that they were in for a long day as Seniors had their first shot on target through Kinuthia. Seniors midfielder Pare was having a field day in the middle of the field looping the ball over the defense. The Seniors' front three attackers were significantly alternating making it difficult to develop a proper mechanism of stopping them. However, it was Kinuthia who was causing problems for PSC OOT beating Mutua cutting in from the left, and his shot not only bet the goalkeeper but hit the crossbar sparing PSC OOT from conceding. Before the crossbar had stopped rattled a well-measured through ball had the defense beaten as Seniors no. 9 raced clear on goal with only Babu to beat, he rounded Babu shot for the first goal only for Ogochee to block the goal-bound shot for a corner. It was clear that Seniors were controlling all aspects of play with PSC OOT unable to provide the correct answers. Despite this, it was PSC OOT who found the first goal after a well-taken corner by Mutua resulted in an easy tap-in for debutant Jonathan. However, this only proved to be a scene of stirring the sewage as Seniors swiftly made changes and upped the tempo which paid off immediately. Seniors striker marked by Mutua and Ogochee was having a party pulling a Moses on the Red Sea by dissecting between them. Unable to take the ball off the player, Ogochee pulled off what has in recent games been associated with Lenny, taking out the player and conceding a penalty. No mistake from Seniors who immediately equalized. Motivated by the equalizer Seniors chased for a second goal PSC OOT struggled to string two passes together. PSC OOT was losing the ball easily, not winning the 50/50s and Seniors appeared to want it more. Coach Mwai was already up from his technical area as things were going horribly for Parklands but when he turned to his bench he had very few options to choose from. For the second away match the team had a very lean squad in comparison to the opponents who substituted after every fifteen minutes bringing in new players to torment PSC OOT. A second defensive error from Mitch handed Seniors the lead that Seniors wanted, as his miss controlled in the 18-yard box allowing the Seniors striker to turn and select the bottom of the corner for the goal. The nightmare continued as Babu was being forced into saves after every three minutes and while the game had only been played for 20 minutes his black kits had already turned brown. It was in the moments of chasing an equalizer that Kamdam decided to make his customary deep runs from his center back position to join in the attack. While we are used to his attributes as a defender wa kupanda na kubaki, this time it turned out to defender wa kupanda na kulala as after miscontrolling the ball his body gave up needing glucose to reenergize. Having received water Kamdam was at hand to prevent a quick restart that earned him a yellow card. With PSC OOT unable to create any chances the game went into halftime 2-1. Immediate substitute, James Nani for Cooks, Johnny for Jonathan, Rasco for Mitch. A much improved second half commenced after a passionate talk down by coach Mwai. However, it was Seniors who extended their lead, their left-back overlapping and leaving Mutua on the floor before unleashing a cross into the 18 area. A miscommunication between Babu and Ogochee resulted in an own goal from Ogochee. Babu caught the ball but in his attempt for a quick restart hit the ball against Ogochee’s back with the ball bouncing into goal. Another self-inflicted tragedy. However, this time Parklands had the right answers as a well-flowing move from the lefty had Doobiz set up Johnny who drilled home from outside the eighteen-yard area. A comeback was on the horizon Tony Tiger in for Collo with the Erico winning the team a penalty to set up a grand finale. A fight between Bassanga and Erico on whom to take the penalty ensued with Bassanga taking the responsibility. With only the keeper to beat, he went wide missing from the spot. The cumulative effect was massive, down went Johnny with an injury after a personal running with Kinuthia forcing Jonathan back into the field. Next came Kamdam pushing back Mitch into the game. Collo is back in for a tiring Karani. Seniors continued with the substitutions as Parklands struggled to recycle theirs. With the team sensing a loss and feeling hard done by the referee's decisions, anger began boiling over resulting in yellow cards for Bassanga and Mwai who were on the touchline. However, it was a quick counter from the midfield slicing through Parklands defense that proved the final nail in the coffin as Seniors now led 4-2. The referee had had enough and blew the whistle to end Parkland’s misery. Despite PSC OOT being outplayed in all departments, lacking any meaningful chances, and losing all 50/50 duels, it is individual errors that eventually led to the loss. The team shall learn from the mistakes as they prepare for the derby next week.
