Okumu and Mwene play full minutes in team wins

Kenyan defenders Joseph Okumu and Austrian-born Phillip Mwene got full ninety minutes under their belts when their respective teams took to the field yesterday. Okumu featured as his IF Elfsborg side thrashed Malmo FF 4-0 in a friendly encounter while Mwene took part in FSV Mainz's tightly contested 1-0 win against Freiburg in the German Bundesliga.

A late first half goal from Rasmus Alm in the 42nd minute ensured Okumu’s team had a slender advantage going into the half time break. Elfsborg came out guns blazing in the second half as Marokhy Ndione, Simon Strand and Jack Cooper Love added three goals to ensure a comfortable 4-0 win. Okumu partnered up in defence with 23 year old Guinea-Bissau international Lamine Jarjue Maudo who was making his debut for the Swedish side. It would be a perfect start to life for him as the team kept a clean sheet .

Elsewhere in the German Bundesliga, Phillip Mwene and his Mainz side had to dig deep in order to walk away with all the three points against eighth placed Freiburg. Robin Quaison tapped home an 84th minute winner to seal the all-important victory that moved Mainz from automatic relegation spot in 17th to relegation playoff 16th place.

The result brought to an end Mainz’s two game winless run. Mainz find themselves battling to avoid relegation after collecting only five wins in twenty five games. Mwene took to his social media page to express that the fight to beat relegation from his team is still on.

“The marathon continues,” he posted on his official Instagram account.

The 27 year old defender born in Vienna, Austria to a Kenyan father and Austrian mother, holds dual citizenship for both Kenya and Austria and has expressed his desire severally to feature for the Kenyan national team.