This archive report was first published on 21 August 2019.
On Wednesday, Embu Water Services Company men's football team made a resounding statement in the Water Services Companies Sports Organisation (Wasco) Games, defeating Kenya Water Institute (Kewi) 9-0 at Embu Stadium.
The match was played in front of a home crowd, and Embu's dominance was evident from the start. By halftime, they were already leading 5-0, with Victor Gitonga and Dennis Mwiathi scoring once each. Erick Kivuti then added to the tally with a brace, and Stanley Irungu also found the back of the net.
Embu's striker Kivuti opened the scoring with a clever dribble past the Kewi defenders, and Gitonga followed suit with a brace. The Kewi team struggled to respond, failing to manage a single shot on goal.
Embu's impressive performance comes after they registered a 2-0 win against Kiambu on Tuesday. Mombasa also qualified for the quarter-finals after defeating Tavevo 4-0 in Group 'C' fixture.
Defending champions Nairobi began their title defence on a high note, overrunning Kisumu 6-1 in an entertaining match played at the same venue. Nairobi's lethal strike force of Elly Tsavai, Agostino Moses, and Michael Ochieng was clinical, running rings round the defence of an otherwise strong Kisumu side.
More than 2,000 athletes drawn from 37 water companies in the country are competing in 14 disciplines that include track, field, and indoor games.
Embu head coach Nicodemus Omasete quickly shifted focus to the quarter-finals, saying his team would not be complacent even after managing two wins on the trot.
"We know the knock-out stage is very difficult because there is no second chance. If you lose, you exit the games. We want to plan for the match," he said.
Embu will now wait for the result of the match between Mombasa and Tavevo to determine who tops the pool going into the quarter-finals.
