Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with Alex Telles after scoring against Tottenham Source: marca.com
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Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest scoring professional footballer of all time, with 807 goals, after bagging a hat-trick against Tottenham . The Portuguese broke the previous record of 805 goals held by Josef Bican. His hat-trick helped Man United beat Tottenham 3-2.
Ronaldo had missed the Manchester Derby the week before but was clearly itching to play this week. His first goal of the night was the best of the lot after he found time and space to fire a rocket into the top corner past Hugo Lloris. Tottenham equalized after Harry Kane converted a penalty from a handball by Alex Telles. United took the lead once more through Ronaldo after Sancho beat the offside trap to set him up for his second. In the second half, a Maguire own goal levelled the game but Ronaldo once again powered a header past Lloris from a corner delivered by Telles.
The win helped Man United climb into the top four despite having played 4 more games than Arsenal. Arsenal will face Leicester on Sunday and a win will put the Gunners back into the top four. United next host Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie which is level at 1-1 on aggregate. Atletico Madrid will be weary of Cristiano Ronaldo as every knockout tie they lost between 2014 and 2019 was at the hands of a team containing Cristiano.
As couples celebrate the month of love football lovers are not left out.
The month of February to them means the return of one of the world’s most loved competitions, the UEFA Champions League.
The Champions League round of 16 kicked off on February 15 after taking a break right after the group stages since December and some tasty ties are lined up. The start offs were Real Madrid playing against Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at the Parc Des Princes. The game came to an end with the teams having 0-1 respectively.
PSG has reached the Final and Semi Final the past two seasons and will be looking to go a step further and win it this season. The signing of Lionel Messi added more pressure on PSG to deliver the trophy.
Another monumental clash will see Inter Milan, the Italian Champions, make their return to the round of 16 after almost a decade out. They face a tough test against the 2019 champions Liverpool who have signed Luis Diaz from Porto to add to their already stacked forward line.
Manchester United return to the Round of 16 after 2 seasons away. They face an Atletico Madrid side that has struggled at the start of the season but it would not be wise to write off Diego Simeone’s troops. United boss Ralf Rangnick will be seeking a good run in the Champions League since the Premier League title charge is over for United.
The first legs of the ties took place on the 15 February with PSG playing against Real Madrid, and Sporting Lisbon against Manchester City. Manchester City secured a win with 5 goals.
The others will take place as follows 16, 22,and 23 February with the return legs taking place on 8, 9, 15, and 16of March.
Round of 16 ties
PSG vs Real Madrid
Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City
RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich
Inter Milan vs Liverpool
Chelsea vs LOSC
Villareal vs Juventus
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United
Benfica vs Ajax
Thumbnail Photo courtesy of Facebook/Harambee Stars.
Kenya will play Mali in the World Cup Qualifiers Qatar 2022 on Thursday, October 7th at the Stade Adrar Stadium, Morocco at 10pm.
Mali is at the top Group E with four points, two points ahead of Kenya and Uganda. Rwanda is at the bottom of the table with one point after drawing with Kenya in the second round of the qualifiers.
Kenya will play Mali in the return leg on Sunday, October 10th at the Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi at 4pm.
This is the first assignment for newly appointed Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat. He is expected to come up with a strategy; all eyes are keen to see if Firat will use a strategy by his predecessor Kimanzi and Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee.
Firat firmly believes that Kenya will feature in the coming World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
“First of all, we have to see the other players who will be here because some of them may be injured. Of course, we have good players here, some of them are young. I am very hopeful because I believe in young players,” he said.
Newly appointed Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat (left) and FKF president Nick Mwendwa (Photo courtesy of Facebook/Harambee Stars).
Kenya will play without former Tottenham Hotspur and AFC leopards star Victor Wanyama who retired from international football after former head coach Mulee dropped him from team leadership. Stars will also lack FKF premier league Golden Clove winner and Ulinzi Stars goalkeeper James Saruni, Kariobangi Sharks defender Samuel Olwande and midfielder Pattillah Omoto, Wazito youngster Musa Masika, Gor Mahia defender Frank Odhiambo, Bandari’s Keagan Ndemi and KCB Reagan Otieno and Ovella Ochieng after being dropped by Firat in the final squad.
KAA Gent Joseph Okumu, Simba SC Joash Onyango, David Owino Odhiambo and AIK Eric ‘Marcelo’ Ouma will bring experience to the Stars’ defense.
Red Star midfielder Richard Odada who impressed in the match against Uganda is expected take the defensive midfielder task and cushion the back four.
Tanzania- based Azam Fc Kenneth Muguna will collaborate with Sofapaka skipper Lawrence Juma in the midfielder axis and help open the stubborn defence creating chances for the attacks. The midfielders will be helped by Ismael Gonzalez, Duke Abuya, Boniface Muchiri, Phillip Mayaka and Abdalla Hassan.
Tusker FC 18-year-old youngster Eric Zakayo was among the final 25-man squad and is expected to be a key player in the second half of the match against Mali.
Mali head coach Mohamed Magassouba is keen on getting maximum points against Kenya.
Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma, Southampton Moussa Djenepo, Lens Massadio Haidara and Al Ahly Aliou Dieng will be offering their experience to The Eagles.
Pressure still remains on the Mali team who have only scored twice in their last five fixtures. Kenya on the other hand is unbeaten in their last six fixtures.
List of players in the Engin Firat final 25-man squad
Goalkeepers: Ian Otieno, Brian Bwire, Faruk Shikhalo
Defenders: Joseph Okumu, Joash Onyango, David Owino, Johnstone Omurwa, Eugene Asike, Daniel Sakari, David Owino Ambulu, Abud Omar, Eric Ouma, Bolton Omwenga.
Midfielders: Richard Odada, Lawrence Juma, Ismael Gonzalez, Kenneth Muguna, Duke Abuya, Boniface Muchiri, Eric Zakayo, Phillip Mayaka, Abdalla Hassan.
Forwards: Michael Olunga, Henry Meja, Eric Kapaito
The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Kenya Premier League 21/22 season will take a break after the game week 1 matches played on Saturday, September 25th and Sunday, September 26th. The league will resume on Friday, October 15th with two fixtures on that day.
The eighteen-days break is for Harambee Stars to prepare for the upcoming Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Kenya is set to play Mali in an away match and the return leg a week later.
This is the first assignment for the newly appointed Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat who is on a two-month deal. Kenya is currently second in the Group E with two points in two matches. Mali sits at the top of this group with 4 points
2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Standings for Group E (Photo courtesy of Twitter/Harambee Stars)
Over the weekend, all eighteen teams took part in the nine matches played across different venues in the country
Record holder Gor Mahia began their campaign with a 2-1 against league runners-up KCB while AFC Leopard youngsters surprised league winners Tusker in a 1-0 win.
AFC Leopards celebrate win against champions Tusker FC (Photo courtesy of Facebook/AFC Leopards)
Bandari held a 3-0 masterclass against Mathare while Sofapaka thrashed Nairobi City Stars 3-1 at Wundanyi stadium.
Bandari celebrate winning 3-0 in their opening match against Mathare United at the Mbaraki Stadium (Photo courtesy of Facebook/Bandari FC)
Kakamega Homeboyz welcomed Kenya Police in a 1-0 win and Ulinzi stars won against Nzoia Sugar 1-0. Kariobangi Sharks won 1-0 at Posta Rangers. Wazito and Bidco united were unable to withstand the new force from promoted Talanta and Vihiga United in the 21/22 season opening matches.
It was a good weekend for the Daystar Chess Falcons who managed to climb up the ladder from 10th to 6th position in the ongoing Kenya Online Chess League. A total of 21 teams are participating in this prestigious event.
Three games were played over the weekend on 28th and 29th of August 2021. The team managed to secure three wins with a total of 10 rounds yet to be played.
Playing online is a new experience as some players can be prone to mouse slip and poor network; a drawback which wouldn’t be seen in a physical match. However, there are also benefits such as quick analysis of one’s game and opponents. This in turn helps to strategize and prepare against the next team.
The Kenya Chess Federation has adopted a hybrid system where the league will be conducted online on Tornelo platform, approved by FIDE (the international governing body of chess). Open tourneys will be physical under the guidance of the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Daystar was represented by the following Chess Falcons:
Board 1: Glen Kingoina
Board 2: Edwin Kipterem
Board 3: Weldon Ngetich
Board 4: Brian Ngetich
Board 5: Karan Christie/Vincent Muthuiya
Board 6: Olive Sang/Wamuyu Macharia
Daystar Chess Falcons continue to grow in number and in strength.
Having played host to the 2021 World Athletics Championships over the past week, Kenyan athletes took advantage of their home and emerged as the top country. They held 16 medals in total (8 gold, 1 silver, and 7 bronze). Finland emerged second with 5 medals (4 gold and 1 silver) and Nigeria was third with 7 medals (4 gold and 3 bronze). Let us take a look back over the 5 days in which the championships ran to see how Kenya managed to achieve this.
Sunday 22nd August
On the final day of the championships, Emmanuel Wanyonyi won the gold medal. He set the championship record in the men’s 800m with a time of 1:43.76. Our own Noah Kibet secured a bronze medal in this race while Algeria’s Mohammed Ali Gouaned took the silver.
Purity Chepkirui wins the 1500m race narrowly beating Diribe Welteji from Ethiopia Photo Courtesy of Jonah Onyango.
Purity Chepkirui earned Kenya’s seventh gold medal in the women’s 1500m final on the same day. She narrowly beat Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji in the last 50m and clocked a time of 4:16.07. Chepkirui expressed her joy at beating the experienced Ethiopian who is fresh from the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics.
“This was my first time to represent Kenya and I am happy. Going up against an experienced runner in the Ethiopian, who is the defending champion, I knew I had to get my finishing kick right and it took everything in me to win,” she said.
Chemutai’s compatriot Winnie Jemutai also performed commendably earning a bronze medal despite having planned for a 1-2 finish for Kenya.
Kenya also dominated the men’s 3000m steeplechase with another gold and bronze combo. Amos Serem won the race in 8:30.72 while his teammate Simon Kiprop came in third with a time of 8:34.79. They were again split by an Ethiopian, Tadese Takele who finished second in 8:33.15.
The Kenyan quartet (Joshua Wanyonyi), Elkanah Kiprotich, Kennedy Kimeu, and Peter Kithome) won a bronze medal in the men’s 4x400m relay final with a time of 3:05.94. They came in behind Botswana and Jamaica in this very last race of the championships.
Saturday 21st August
Vincent Keter celebrates after winning the 1500m at the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi. Photo Courtesy of Raymond Makhaya.
The fifth gold medal was earned by Vincent Keter in the men’s 1500m. With a time of 3:37.24, he blazed through the final lap to win the race. It would have been yet another Kenyan gold and bronze combo but Kamar Etyang was disqualified for lane infringement despite finishing third. Ethiopians Wegene Addisu and Melkeneh Azize, therefore, finished in second and third positions respectively.
“I am really happy with the gold medal today. We had talked with Etyang and we had agreed to work as a team and then the best man to win. It is a good day for Kenya. I had a small injury in the middle of the race but I am thankful to God that I have made it,” said Keter.
Earlier that same day, Herringtone Wanyonyi won Kenya’s very first 10km race walk gold medal. He finished with a time of 42:10.84 ahead of Amit from India and Paul McGrath from Spain. He previously ran the 10000m race but was made to change to race walk by his former primary school teacher Wesley Korir.
Friday 20th August
With a personal best time of 9:27.4, Jackline Chepkoech clinched the gold in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase on. Kenya attained a bronze medal again with Faith Cherotich coming in third while Ethiopia’s Zerfe Wondemagegn won the silver.
Thursday 19th August
Japan-based Teresia Muthoni blazed through the women’s 400m to clinch Kenya’s second gold medal in a time of 8:59.78. Her fellow Kenyan, Zena Jemutai won the silver awarding Kenya a 1-2 finish. Ethiopia’s Melknat Wudu came in third.
The very first Kenyan gold medal in these championships was won by Benson Kiplangat in the men’s 5000m. In a personal best time of 13:20.37, he beat Ethiopia’s Tadese Worku who had won the men’s 3000m the previous day. Kiplangat said that he was happy and surprised to have won the race as he had not expected to even get a medal. He was ultimately proud to have done so. This race also saw the first Kenyan gold and bronze combo in the championships with Levy Kibet coming in third and winning Kenya’s first bronze medal.
Wednesday 18th August
Kenya was off to a rocky start on the first day of the championships earning no medals at all. They suffered a crushing defeat in the men’s 3000m with representatives Daniel Kinyanjui and Bernard Yegon coming in seventh and ninth places respectively.
It is amazing and exciting that Kenya was able to move from a rather disappointing start to such a marvelous finish in these championships.
Daystar’s Falcons chess team emerged as the top university scoring 19 points at the Nakuru Open Chess Tournament held at Waterbuck Hotel. The tournament was held on July 31 and August 1. It featured more than 120 players from Kenya and had 7 universities present. It consisted of 7 rounds and was, in fact, the largest competitive tourney in the past two years.
Daystar sent a team of 8 players (6 men and 2 ladies) under the guidance of Karan Christie and captained by Brian Ngetich.
“I would like to thank Daystar management for giving us the opportunity to participate in this prestigious event. This has been a good performance especially after resuming over the board Chess in Kenya and we look forward to improving our games and win more tournaments in the future,” said Brian.
The top scorers were Weldon Ngetich (former captain) and Glen Kingoina with 4.5/7 points respectively. The other players representing Daystar were: Carlos Musungu, Jackline Wambugu, Olive Sang and Vincent Muthuiya.
The Daystar Chess Falcons Team.
In 2020 the team shifted to online chess due to the pandemic. This took away the thrill and general feel of the game. The Nakuru Open 2021 brought back a more positive vibe and allowed our chess players to really immerse themselves. Daystar now looks forward to hosting the 6th Daystar Chess Open soon.
For more information on joining the Daystar Chess Falcons, please contact Brian on +254 713 599 645.
The battle between the biggest football simulation video games will be intense this year. Electronic Arts (EA) will be releasing the twenty ninth installment of their ‘FIFA’ series – FIFA 22, while the Japanese company Konami is working on releasing its game, eFootball, in September or October.
The Konami game is more popularly known as Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), but recently underwent a name change and will now be referred to as eFootball. The two games have sat atop the football gaming world for well over two decades with both achieving critical and commercial success.
The two video games are often in a constant battle with each other. The latest battle is seeing some of the biggest European football clubs opting for Konami rather than EA. Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich and AS Roma have opted to partner with Konami thus bringing more attention to their game and taking some off FIFA. Juventus and AS Roma even refused to grant FIFA the naming licenses in their games and go by alternative names.
A photo from eFootball announcing Neymar as their newest partner Photo Courtesy of Instagram/efootball
This year, the two games have undergone wholesale changes in attempts to wow the fans as they have been accused of little to no change in prior game versions over the years. The graphics and gameplay departments of both companies have been hard at work over the past year and both have promised significant change in their subsequent games.
For FIFA 22, EA have enlisted the use of Hyper Motion technology which has combined advanced 11 v 11 match capture and machine learning to give players a more advanced ‘next-gen’ feel. From their released gameplay trailer, FIFA 22 promises to have advanced player humanization which aims to mirror the communication, aggression and even emotions on the pitch between the real-life players.
A photo illustrating hyper motion flow as used in FIFA 22 Photo Courtesy of Instagram/easportsfifa
eFootball has decided to take a different route and become a Free-to-Play (F2P) game across all gaming platforms. eFootball will deliver advanced graphics and more animations than ever thanks to “Motion Matching” technology.
The fact that the game will be F2P on console, PC and mobile might give it an upper hand over FIFA 22 even though many gamers have chosen FIFA in recent years. Additionally, many will be keen on eFootball as they did not actually release a full game last year- only a season update on their previous version- and promised to unveil an improved version of the game this year.
Gamers have been favoring FIFA over eFootball in past years mostly because of the likeness between the real-life footballers and the simulations as well as the authentic names of teams. With some clubs opting to partner with Konami and the wholesale changes promised, will FIFA still have an edge over its rival?
eFootball has received a lot of praise for its in-game physics and realistic gameplay over the years, but FIFA has also greatly improved in both areas over the past few years. What is for sure is that both games have received heavy investment to give users and gamers better experiences.
Falcons side celebrate scoring a goal in league match.
Falcons produced a masterclass performance that saw them win 3-1 against derby rivals Daystar City at the Bethel grounds on July 24.
Daystar City took an early lead through Abubakar Omondi but failed to hold to it as Nigerian Victor Atta and Lorenzo put Falcons ahead a few minutes later. Valentine Omondi won a penalty late in the first half, scoring Falcon’s third and his first goal of the season.
“The game was easy. We conceded the first goal but we put our heads up and managed to equalise, found the second goal and I thank God for my first goal of the season which was our third,” said Valentine Omondi.
Daystar Falcons captain Barrack Khaseke in a post-match interview said the team was in good form recording a three match winning streak. He is convinced that with no injury to keep players out, the current team can perform well in the KUSA and FKF leagues. He further urged the administration to look into the challenges faced by the teams which include a poor state of facilities for both indoor and outdoor games.
City Captain Ken Andrew on the other hand was positive with the loss and is convinced they will be back better. He was backed by team manager and Nairobi campus Governor Brian Zaza Achoka, who insisted that his team lost due to some defensive errors and not because the opponents were at their best.
Boniface Mutuku, falcons’ head coach while speaking to the Daystar press applauded his boys for the win. The coach recalls City scoring in the first minutes due to mistakes after which the falcons rectified scoring three goals in the quick succession. He adds that second half was tough, as the team failed to capitalize on goal scoring opportunities.
The coach further pointed out that players get affected by fatigue, citing a scenario where the team has had to play seven games in the last two weeks.
“Actually as we come to the end of KUSA, my boys will have a little rest because we may be playing one or two matches in a weekend and that will be a little bit okay,” says coach Mutuku.
KUSA Secretary General Nairobi congress Muli Muluta states that it has been challenging for league teams with two games every weekend as it is tiring for players as some have to play in both games. Mr. Muluta acknowledged the challenges caused by the pandemic, with new rules being incorporated to mitigate it.
2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Standings for Group E (Photo courtesy of Twitter/Harambee Stars)
