No Pinches no party?

Nairobi City Stars head coach Sanjin Alagic will have to do without the services of suspended midfield lynchpin Peter Pinchez Opiyo for the crucial clash against log leaders Tusker FC on Saturday 20 March.

Pinchez accumulated five yellow cards in the deflating 1-0 loss to highflying AFC Leopards on Saturday leaving him suspended for the clash against Tusker. 

The Bosnian tactician admitted that missing Pinchez at the heart of midfield comes as a big blow to City Stars when they face stern opposition from Tusker.

“Absence of Pinchez in the match against Tusker, the leading team in table, it is a big blow for us, because he is such an important player in our team. When you play against the best teams in the league definitely you need all your best players in the squad,”

“But I don’t want to whine about that, we will try to prepare ourselves in the best possible way and get ready for the match to achieve a positive result,” said Alagic.

Pinchez went into the referee’s book in the 61st minute for bringing down Marvin Nabwire who was surging into the City Stars defence after a lung-bursting run from midfield.

The experienced midfielder who has enjoyed two separate stints in Finland revealed that the yellow card did not sit well with him but added that cautions are part of the game.

“That card really disturbed me. I didn’t expect to get one but hey, that’s the nature of the game. You have to be prepared to miss some matches.” said Opiyo.

The 28-year-old has played every single minute of the season thus far but is in line to miss out on his first game of the season after notching 15 games under his belt.

Pinchez has also chipped in with goals this season, scoring four of City Stars 15 goals this season in games against Wazito, Posta Rangers, Western Stima and Ulinzi Stars.