Shikanda delighted after hat-trick hero, Okello delivers maiden season win

Nzoia Sugar head coach Ibrahim Shikanda admits that his desperate search for a proven goal scorer who would fill in the big shoes that were vacated by Hillary Simiyu led him to make the gamble of the year by pulling Levis Okello from retirement.

The sugar millers were dealt a massive blow when Simiyu, their last season's top scorer who took the league by storm after arriving from Bungoma Superstars in February decamped to Ulinzi Stars.

Simiyu's absence from the Nzoia camp was felt in match days as the Bungoma-based club had just scored three goals in eight league matches.

In his search for his replacement, Shikanda lured Okello from retirement and invited him to train with the club just a week to the closure of the transfer window.

It is after impressing that he was registered on the final day of the window and it took him eight rounds to get his debut that came in their barren draw against Nairobi City Stars. The forward who last featured for Vihiga Bullets before joining Nzoia had spent a season out of active football.

The forward rewarded Shikanda for giving him a second chance by bagging a hat-trick that inspired them to beat Kariobangi Sharks 3-1 last Saturday and subsequently, they registered their first win of the season. 

Shikanda believes that Okello is a perfect replacement to Simiyu and is the answer to the poor goal returns witnessed earlier. 

"We signed him on the final day of the transfer and had to wait longer before making his debut because he was unfit. He had even retired from active football but I am happy to see him getting closer to his best. If he continues with the good job then he will fit in Simiyu's shoes, " he said.

Meanwhile, the former Bandari assistant coach challenged the rest of the forwards to refine their goal poaching instincts and shoulder the responsibilities of winning matches.

Shikanda has been on record saying that the club had been performing dismally thanks to the lack of a potent striking front.

"The problem had been scoring more than two goals in a match. We can not solely depend on Okello for any other player and it is in this regard that I urge the rest of the forwards to step so that we can scale to a safer rank," he added.