The Mathare United Sentinel
Squad19 Feb 2029
Achraf Hermach breaks a bone — 61 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market19 Feb 2029
Fidel Origa asks to leave Mathare United
“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.
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
No sign of nerves from Themba Tau at 21 — 7.64
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Themba Tau did not need any: 7.64, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad19 Feb 2029
A row about effort at Mathare United
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kgwadi Molepo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Tswelelo Maake 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 Mathare United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market19 Feb 2029
One of our own: Amos Wanyama joins the Mathare United first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Amos Wanyama is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market19 Feb 2029
Victor Mwendwa steps up from the Mathare United academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Victor Mwendwa has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market19 Feb 2029
Mathare United promote David Njeru from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. David Njeru has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
Elvis Ronack frozen out at Mathare United
This is not rotation. Elvis Ronack has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mathare United is pretending otherwise.
In brief
- Match Mathare United find a way past Kakamega Homeboyz
- The dugout No hiding place for Izzadin Juma
- Player ratings John Macharia stands above it all