Olunga: Kenya striker explains scoring run for Kashiwa Resyol

BetOdds African All Stars Yokohama F. Marinos v Kashiwa Reysol Yokohama F. Marinos Kashiwa Reysol J1 League

The lanky Harambee Stars forward is happy to be on the score sheet every week and welcomed the draw against the former champions

Kenya international Michael Olunga has revealed why he has enjoyed a good scoring run for Kashiwa Reysol in the J1 League.

The former Gor Mahia striker took his tally of goals to 10 from nine matches after he scored yet again as Resyol secured a 1-1 draw against former champions Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday.

Olunga took advantage of a defensive blunder to make a solo run and fire home a powerful shot to give Resyol the lead in the 62nd minute, but they could not maintain their advantage, as Yokohama drew level in the 78th minute when Ado Oneiwu scored from close range to deny Reysol a fifth straight win in the top-flight.

The towering striker has now explained why he has been in prolific form in front of the goal in the past five matches, which made him the first player in the history of the league to reach the 10-goal mark in every division of the Meiji Yasuda J. League.

“It is basically hard work because each and every game is a difficult game and the defenders in each and every team are now marking together,” Olunga told reporters after the draw against Marinos.

“You have to be on top of your game, you have to be ready to finish off the chances your team creates, so it is not an easy task, as a striker your main target is to position yourself well and make sure you are clinical in front goal, nothing else.

“You know [Marinos] played better, they had better ball possession but as strikers, you have to wait for your moment to come, be patient and when your moment arrives, be clinical, and thus the goals will come.”

On how he scored the goal against Marinos, Olunga said: “It was a clearance from the backline and I was upfront alone and you know the defender, tried to give a back pass to the goalkeeper, and I did not give up and then he made a defensive error and I took the ball, it was one on one situation with the defender then I beat him to the ball and beat the ball with my right foot and then it was a goal.”

On Marino ending their four-match winning run with the draw, Olunga said: “It was a positive point because [Marino] were the champions last year, and whenever you go to play against champion at their own backyard, and in front of their supporters it is always going to be difficult.

“As I said before, they had the better part of ball possession but as a team, we played solid, we defended very well, each and every player played well, and at the end of the day we took home a draw, it is a positive result, we take the one point away and each and every game we just play to work hard.”

The former Thika United and Tusker centre-forward failed to score in the first three matches since the J1 League restarted on July 4 but his recent fine form now sees him top the scorers’ chart with 10 goals.

The towering Olunga, who scored his first J1 League hat-trick against Vegalta Sendai on July 26, has established himself as one of the clear favourites for the Golden Boot at this stage.

He was the runner-up in the second division when he managed 27 goals in a successful campaign which pushed Kashiwa Reysol back to the top tier.

Olunga’s next match will be a J. League Cup against Oita Trinita on Wednesday before they resume league action against Cerezo Osaka on Saturday.

2020-08-09 10:00:02

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