SCHOOLS: Kisumu Day rally to hold defending champions Agoro Sare in Nyanza

Agoro Sare 's Geoffrey Omondi (L)vies for the ball against Kisumu Day players during Nyanza Region Secondary School games at Kisii School.[Sammy Omingo, Standard]

Kisumu Day High School rallied from behind to hold defending champions Agoro Sare High School to a 1-1 draw in a rescheduled Group A match played at Kisii School on Thursday morning as the 2024 Nyanza Region Secondary School games entered day two.

Geoffrey Omondi gave Agoro Sare the lead in the 65^th minute before Kisumu Day leveled the scores five minutes later through Brian Odiwuor as the two teams shared the spoils.

Agoro Sare 's Geoffrey Omondi (L)vies for the ball against Kisumu Day players during Nyanza Region Secondary School games at Kisii School.[Sammy Omingo, Standard]

Agoro Sare were set to play nemesis Kisumu Day in the opening Group A match at Cardinal Otunga Mosocho High School but was shelved due to fan hostility.

Scenes of stone pelting and fans welding clubs were witnessed at Mosocho grounds while a few instances saw fans engage in fist blows before the match kicked off.

The match kicked off on Thursday morning 7am to avoid more fan trouble with only a handful of both fans present.

Agoro Sare High School players celebrate after taking the lead against Kisumu Day.[Sammy Omingo,Standard]

After a 0-0 draw in the first half, Omondi sent the growing number of fans majorly made up of Kisii School students into a frenzy after cutting from the left wing and sending a thunderbolt shot to give Agoro Sare the lead.

Five minutes later, Odiwuor repeated the same trick from the other end after collecting the ball at edge of the box before sending a low shot past the Agoro keeper to tie the scores at 1-1.

Kisumu Day coaches Booker Odhiambo (center) greats his counterpart Benjamin Oyoo after winning Kisumu County title. [Washington Onyango,Standard]

Speaking after the win, Kisumu day coach Booker Odhiambo praised the recovery of his team especially after going behind 1-0.

“We had a moment of defensive error and I am glad we were able to recover very well and salvage a point. A draw is not a bad result and we will build from this,” said Odhiambo.

Agoro Sare coach Fredrick Akuku was impressed with the game and sportsmanship showed from both sides who displayed no animosity on the field.

There is no animosity from our players and I applaud Kisumu Day captain Elisha Otieno for his sportsmanship and championing for unity among the both teams,” said Akuku.