Marked for Brian Ochieng
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 May 2028
No end in sight to Mara Sugar's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Mara Sugar has to find a result from somewhere.
Market22 May 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Mara Sugar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad22 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mara Sugar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match20 May 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad22 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings22 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Mara Sugar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Isabwa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad22 May 2028
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Player ratings22 May 2028
5.34 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mara Sugar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Alex Imbusia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match17 Jul 2027
Ulinzi Stars left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Michael Isabwa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad19 Jul 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Mara Sugar told Joseph Ogenda something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
5.24 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
5.36. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market5 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Mara Sugar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market5 Jul 2027
The offer from Muranga Seal for Joseph Ogenda was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Match3 Jul 2027
Nobody wants to play Mara Sugar right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Alex Imbusia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Brian Ochieng and Mara Sugar agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match3 Jul 2027
Three points for Mara Sugar, 1‑0 the final word against Muranga Seal in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market12 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mara Sugar can pretend not to have heard.
Match10 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Mara Sugar
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match10 Apr 2027
The goals have deserted Mara Sugar
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Mara Sugar can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Alex Imbusia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mara Sugar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Apr 2027
Nairobi United left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Ibrahim Ochieng
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Mara Sugar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Isabwa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market12 Apr 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Brian Ochieng has his answer from Mara Sugar; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
An afternoon Aron Kithae will want back
Marked 5.13. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market22 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Bernard Ondiek was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match20 Mar 2027
Ulinzi Stars left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bernard Ondiek, and the manager let it.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Michael Isabwa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Kelvin Mwavali: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mara Sugar have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market30 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Mara Sugar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Alex Imbusia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.