Daystar Falcons finally registered their first-ever victory at the MMUST Grounds after edging a fighting MMUST RFC 20-19 in a thrilling Kenya Cup encounter.
The Falcons had never beaten MMUST at this venue, having lost their previous two visits in the KRU Championship. However, they previously defeated MMUST 29–10 in the KRU Championship final played at Kakamega Showground.
Daystar Falcons miss
The match began with early penalty exchanges, but both Eddy Wambugu for Daystar and Flavian Otiyo for MMUST missed their initial attempts at goal.
Daystar opened the scoring when the ball was moved quickly from a scrum, slicing through the MMUST defence to send unmarked Augustine Owino over in the corner.
MMUST responded through Flavian Otiyo, whose two long-range penalties gave the hosts a 6–5 lead.
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From a lineout, Daystar opted for a rolling maul, with hooker Ezekiel Omeno grounding the ball. Wambugu missed the conversion. Almost immediately, the Falcons struck again when Chris Obuya dived in at the corner for their second try, though Wambugu was again unable to add the extras.
MMUST quickly pulled one back to cut the deficit to four points, and the scoreline remained unchanged heading into the break despite late pressure from Daystar.
In the second half, Daystar were reduced to 14 men after Eddy Wambugu was shown a yellow card. MMUST capitalised as Otiyo slotted a penalty to edge his side ahead 15–14.
The Falcons regained the lead from another powerful maul, with Nathan Tsindoli touching down to make it 20–14.
MMUST push
MMUST continued to press, but Otiyo saw a crucial penalty attempt rebound off the posts. Daystar looked set to close out the match, but the hosts mounted a dramatic late surge, holding possession for over five minutes before Musa Mugandi crossed to bring MMUST within a point.
With the final kick of the game, Otiyo had a chance to steal victory, but his conversion attempt drifted wide, allowing Daystar Falcons to walk away with a famous and hard-fought win.
