Youthful Harambee Stars’ defender Johnstone Omurwa has partly credited his career growth to the experience gained from playing alongside former Kenyan international George ‘Wise’ Owino at Mathare United.
Omurwa, who is currently a free agent after running out his contract with Mathare, scaled to the senior national team last week when coach Sebastien Migne called him up for the Chan qualifiers, progress which he attributes to hard work and lessons learnt from Owino who retired from active play last year after being implicated in match-fixing saga.
Omurwa, who earlier featured in the national U-23 Emerging Stars, made his Mathare debut on February 2018 against a relegated Vihiga United where he was paired with Owino and would cement his place at the heart of the defence.
The former Wazito rookie established himself as a dependable centre half at the club and later made his U-23 debut in the Olympic qualifiers against Mauritius. Omurwa was a surprise late call up when Migne named his travelling party to face Tanzania last week in the first leg of the opening round’s qualifier although he was not considered for playing time.
“Apart from what I learnt from the technical bench, Owino has contributed a lot to my growth as he has always guided me. He was a great defender, who played for long spells both in the country and beyond and it was easy for him to direct me on what to do on the pitch hence the transformation to the player I am today.”
The defender, who confessed of having numerous offers, said he will make his decision after the return leg of the qualifiers this Sunday.
Omurwa was earlier rumoured to be nearing his return to Wazito but refuted the claims. He said Mathare, who lost their experienced defender Samuel Olwande to Kariobangi Sharks, had approached him to extend his stay but will only consider depending on the terms they will offer him.
“At the moment, I am a free agent and the truth is that I have received many offers but I will sign depending on the terms. Mathare, who have been good to me have shown interest to retain me and I may extend my stay depending on the terms they will offer. First things first we have a crucial match against Tanzania this weekend, and that is my focus right now. It’s a must-win for us and I know through home advantage and converting our chances we will sail through,” he added.
