NAIROBI — Ulinzi Stars head coach Stephen Ocholla was an ecstatic man after watching his team grind out a 1-1 draw against Gor Mahia at the Kasarani Stadium on Sunday evening.

Ocholla says the draw was testament to his charges' never-say-die spirit despite falling behind to an early goal.

"A draw to me feels like a win considering the calibre of the opponents we were playing with. They have the best defence in the league; this draw is a huge step to our efforts to get better. It shows that the players are determined to win as many games as possible," the gaffer said.

The soldiers fell behind to a Felix Oluoch goal in the sixth minute but then replied 28 minutes later with a well-worked goal by Boniface Muchiri.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

The Harambee Stars winger finished off a counter attack with a low curler past Gor keeper Byrne Omondi.

Despite spirited efforts from the 21-time Kenya Premier League champions, Ulinzi Stars remained resolute to pick up a precious point from a match many tipped them to be thrashed to a pulp.

Ocholla pointed out that losing was not part of their vocabulary when they stepped onto the Kasarani turf.

"We knew they were going to be a threat from setpieces so we had a plan to contain them. However, it seems that we did not execute the plan to perfection and so they scored. Otherwise, we had vowed not to give up no matter what and I must admit I was delighted when we scored what was a beautiful team goal," he said.

The draw will go along way in resuscitating the soldiers' poor form in the league, which had seen them win only once in seven games - an opening day 1-0 win over Murang'a Seal.

They lie 16th with six points, just two more than bottom-placed Administration Police Service (APS) Bomet.