Coast region will be represented by at least two teams in the 2019 SportPesa Shield Cup semi-finals after Bandari and SS Assad stormed the last four with wins over Western Stima and Congo Boys respectively.
The Dockers thumped visiting Kisumu sidebar 4-1 while SS Assad overpowered Congo Boys 2-1 in the quarter final matches staged on Saturday at the Mbaraki Sports Club.
Abdalla Mdeka netted a brace for SS Assad while Edwin George pulled one back for Congo Boys from the spot, but it turned out to be a mere consolation.
In the all-Kenyan Premier League clashes, William Wadri, Shaban Kenga, Abdalla Hassan and Wycliffe Ochomo were on target for the Dockers, with Henry Onyango netting Stima’s consolation.
The victors will know their semifinal opponents on Sunday where two more matches will be played at the Machakos Stadium.
Collated results
SS Assad 2-1 Congo United
Bandari 4-1 Western Stima
Sunday’s fixtures
KCB v Bidco United (Machakos Stadium, 2 pm)
Kariobangi Sharks v Bungoma Superstars (Machakos Stadium, 4.15 pm)
AFC Leopards came from a goal down to grab maximum points in a 2-1 win over visiting Western Stima in a Kenyan Premier League match staged at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos on Saturday.
Substitute Kaheza Marcel came off the bench to save Ingwe from an eminent shock from Stima with a late goal in the added time after the power men took the lead early in the first half.
Casa Mbungo men really needed the four extra minutes with a match winner having come in for Brian Marita in the 53rd minute.
Vincent Oburu cancelled out Stima opener with a simple tap-in after Stima custodian spilled Wayi Yeka’s shot, but Oburu made no mistakes from point blank range to draw the game level.
Stima blew a chance to take an early lead after Kennedy Agogo’s trike from the spot hit the post after Ingwe handled the ball inside their own box.
The visitors, however, made amends after Wesley Kemboi slotted home from a Jairus Adira’s mistake.
Adira came off his line, but missed the ball that landed on Kemboi’s path and he punished Ingwe with the opener even though the first half statistics exposed the wastefulness trait of the victors who controlled most of the proceedings but they could not justify their dominance.
Oburu, the biggest culprit of the missed chances corrected his mistakes with an equaliser before Kaheza stepped off the bench to help Ingwe pick a third win in a row.
This was the first time that Ingwe had managed maximum points against Stima.
Western Stima hopes of challenging for the Kenyan Premier League title received a major blow after the newly promoted side were docked three points.
Stima was found in violation of the KPL’s transfer rule when they fielded Kevin Okoth against his former side, Tusker in a league match last December.
Okoth was on loan from the Brewers, but Stima, who gained promotion to the top tier last season, went ahead to play Okoth in a match that the power men won by a solitary goal at the Moi Stadium in Kisumu, with Okoth providing the assist.
But Tusker were later handed the points after KPL Player Status Committee found Stima in breach of the loan rules.
As a result, the previous result has been nullified with Tusker being awarded three points and a 2-0 win.
Henry Onyango, who scored the lone goal was also left with no goal after KPL nullified his goal.
Meanwhile, Okoth will not be eligible to appear for either side until March 11, 2019, to allow Tusker to register him for the league.
The setback saw Stima drop to seventh on the log while Tusker climbed to fourth on the table with 25 points after seven wins, four draws and two losses.
Tusker FC could get three ‘free’ points after FKF Player Status Committee ruled in their favour over the ownership of want-away player Kevin Okoth Wayodi.
The Brewers won a legal battle with Western Stima over the ownership of Wayodi who was found in breach of Fifa player transfer rules for double-signing.
The Football Kenya Federation Payer Status Committee found Stima in breach of a loan agreement entered in January 2018 with Tusker who had loaned Wayodi to the Kisumu-based side.
Stima, who by then were taking part in the National Super League, went against the agreement when they fielded Wayodi against his parent club in a KPL match which they eventually won.
Tusker then moved to KPL seeking clarification on the matter while at the same time claiming that they be awarded three points lost against Stima last December in Kisumu.
KPL wrote to FKF seeking a direction on the matter and the Player’ Status Committee ruled in favour of Tusker who were found to be having a running contract with Wayodi.
Wayodi entered into numerous contracts with both Western Stima and one Tusker FC which is in breach of Article 13 of the Fifa Regulations of the Status and Transfer of Players.
It law provides that “a contract between a player and a club may only be terminated upon the expiry of the term of the contract or by mutual agreement.”
Article 16 thereof further provides that “a contract cannot be unilaterally terminated during the course of the season.”
Wayodi admitted having a contract with Tusker that was to run from January 2018 and ending 30th December 2020 but claimed that at the time of signing up with Tusker, the Club agreed to pay him a sign-on fee of Sh200,000.
But according to the player, Tusker only paid him Sh100,000 and another Sh59,000 as a one-month payment in advance with a promise to clear the balance in February 2018 but the same has never been paid to date.
Tusker CEO Charles Obiny testified that Wayodi contacted him sometime in November 2018 informing him that he had been convinced to sign a three years’ contract with Western Stima FC.
Having listened to submission from both parties, the Committee thus ruled: “Having reviewed the documents submitted by the two clubs and having considered submissions made by all the parties, including the player himself, the committee’s decision is that the Player has a three years’ contract with Tusker FC running from January 2018 to 30th December 2020 and that the player was loaned to Western Stima FC for a period of one year ending December, 2018.”
With this, Tusker will now have to wait on KPL to deliver the final verdict to award them three points which could change the league standings.
Tusker are currently fifth and three more points will see them cut Mathare’s lead to just two points.
Bottom-placed Mount Kenya United handed a hapless AFC Leopards a fifth defeat of the season following a 2-1 win in the Kenyan Premier League match on Wednesday.
This is the second time in a row that Mount Kenya surprised everyone, not least themselves, having beaten league leaders Mathare United by a similar margin last weekend.
Ingwe fans will have to face the fact that the team’s problem doesn’t rest on the coaching staff but somewhere else.
Having brought on board Rwandan tactician Casa Mbungo to replace Marko Vasiljevic, the tactician failed to register a positive result in his first game in charge.
Valijevic threw in the towel after his side suffered back to back defeats against Zoo Kericho and Bandari FC.
The defeat by the dockers was the last straw as the Serbian watched helpless as his side soaked in goals in Mbaraki Stadium in Mombasa.
And in came Mbungo, the 27th coach to handle Ingwe in the last 10 years.
The former Rwandan Police coach might have received a rude welcome in KPL from Mount Kenya Wednesday but an even bigger test – Mashemeji Derby – awaits him when he faces Ingwe’s arch rivals, Gor Mahia, this coming weekend.
Meanwhile, K’Ogalo moved to third on the log with a victory against Vihiga United, thanks to a lone goal by Nicholas Kipkirui.
The former Zoo Kericho striker scored his second goal in two matches, having also found the back of the net in Gor’s Caf Confederation 4-2 victory against Zamalek on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Western Stima moved a place behind Gor Mahia after forcing a slim 1-0 win against Zoo in Kisumu.
Western Stima tactician Paul Ogai has been named the Kenyan Premier League December Fidelity Insurance coach of the month.
Ogai came ahead of Mathare United’s tactician Francis Kimanzi in a poll conducted by the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK).
On his top flight debut Ogai took the league by storm, earning three wins and a draw to finish the month on top of the log.
“I’m so happy right now I don’t have words. In my life I’ve only been recognized once before during my high school days but that was internal. So this one means so much to me and hopefully it’s the start of many things to come,” said Ogai.
The newly promoted side began the campaign with a 1-0 win over Posta Rangers before beating former champions Tusker by a similar margin in Kisumu.
A 2-1 home win against Kakamega Homeboyz ensured that they stayed top of the table and his tactical nous was on display when he rallied his boys to pick a rare point against Bandari in Mbaraki.
With Mathare also doing well in the month,very little separated Kimanzi and the victor who got 14 votes with Kimanzi scooping seven of the total votes cast.
Ogai guided Stima to the top in the 2018 National Super League table thereby earning direct promotion to the top flight.
He previously coached the now defunct Palos FC, Agro Chemicals and Kisumu All Stars.
He becomes the first coach to win the accolade in the 2018/19 season.
“We hope to first avoid relegation like in 2017, then fight for a place in the top 10. Our squad is very balanced with young players and very experienced ones. I am just looking forward to an exciting new chapter after the good start we’ve had,” he said.
A total of eleven goals were scored in round eight of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) in a weekend Mathare United became the first team to hit the 20-point mark following a 3-2 win over Kakamega Homeboyz in a five-goal thriller at Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, on Saturday.
Kenyan international Allan Wanga shot the visitors ahead after 10 minutes but Chrispin Oduor quickly equalized for the Slum Boys in 20th minute before completing his brace seven minutes later.
Cliff Nyakeya added the third goal at the hour mark before Luke Namanda reduced the deficit with a cleanly taken goal deep in stoppage time for a 3-2 scoreline.
Mathare, coached by Harambee Stars assistant coach Francis Kimanzi, top the 18-team standings with 20 points, two ahead of Bandari who dropped to second position after temporarily sitting top since Thursday.
How long can Mathare hold on to clinch the title for the first time eleven years?
“For us we take each game at a time, the league is a marathon,” admitted Kimanzi after winger Kevin Kimani and promising midfielder James Kinyanjui stood out for the 2008 champions.
For the Homeboyz technical bench things are not looking good.
Coach Paul Nkata and his assistant Hamza Kalanzi have two more games to save their job.
The Kakamega-based side is winless in five matches, something that has not gone down well with the club supremo.
Nkata has to win his next two matches away to Ulinzi Stars on January 27 and at home to Bandari three days later or ship out.
Homeboyz, who returned to the top flight in 2016, have accumulated eight points in as many games and sit eleventh on the table.
In Machakos, draws reigned on a hot Saturday afternoon with Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Vihiga United sharing the spoils of a 1-1 stalemate before Sony Sugar held Sofapaka to a scoreless draw.
It was a good outcome for the Bankers who had risked dropping down the table after a disastrous start to the season going six matches without a win.
A draw lifted them out of the relegation spot for the first time this season sitting just a point above the drop zone on six points after eight games.
Tables turned when the Ruaraka-based side roped in experienced coach Sammy “Pamzo” Omollo as an assistant to Frank Ouna. This came after the suspension of assistant coaches Elvis Ayany and Ezekiel Akwana.
KCB beat AFC Leopards 1-0 as a result of the changes before the Saturday draw but face a stern test away to Western Stima on Wednesday.
Can they carry on with the positive fight?
“I liked how we fought on after being reduced to ten men, this means we can manage the hot conditions in Kisumu,” said coach Ouna whose side finished with a man down after Rwandese defender Gabriel Mugabo was sent off on 63 minutes.
Cash-strapped Vihiga host Nzoia Sugar, a match coach Mike Mururi believes they can bag maximum points if the boys are motivated.
“The lack of financial power is demoralising us because for instance if had we travelled to Machakos in time, we could’ve easily won the match but we arrived at 4.30am with no time to rest but managed a draw,” said Mururi whose side had protested against honouring the fixture owing to lack of funds.
Sofapaka coach John Baraza was pleased with the barren draw against Sony Sugar on his first match after being installed following the resignation of Medo Melis last week.
“My aim was to rectify the defence which has been conceding goals and at that point I am happy with the scoreless draw, now we shift focus on working on our finishing,” he said.
Saturday results
KCB 1-1 Vihiga United (Kenyatta stadium, Machakos)
Sofapaka 0-0 Sony Sugar (Kenyatta stadium, Machakos)
Mathare United 3-2 Kakamega Homeboyz (MISC, Nairobi )
Sunday
Western Stima 2-2 Nzoia Sugar (Moi stadium, Kisumu)
Kenyan Premier League new boys Western Stima’s positive start to the season might be dealt a big blow should KPL subtract three points from the 14 they have accumulated so far.
The Kisumu side is facing the disciplinary action after they were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player in their 1-0 victory over Tusker FC in December.
Kevin Okoth, who provided the assist for the lone goal, is the player at the centre of the drama that might severely dent Stima’s hopes of winning their maiden league title following their promotion to the top tier from the National Super League last season.
The FKF Player Status Committee found Stima guilty of fielding Okoth against his form side contrary to the terms of the loan agreement between both teams.
Okoth was on loan at Western Stima from Tusker but the club overlooked that fact when they fielded him even after the expiry of his loan spell.
Tusker then moved to the committee seeking clarification on the matter.
“Having reviewed the documents submitted by the two clubs, and having considered submissions made by all the parties, including the player himself, the committee’s decision is that the player has a three year’s contract with Tusker FC running from January 2018 to December 30, 2020, and the player was loaned to Western Stima FC for a period of one year ending December 2018.
“In view of the same, the player ought not to have played for Western Stima FC in their match against Tusker FC as per the loan agreement,” reads the committee ruling.
While the ruling did not elaborate the next course of action, Stima’s fate is now at the mercy of KPL who might be forced to deduct three points.
Unbeaten Stima is currently fourth on the log with 14 points, seven adrift leaders Mathare United tough they have played one game less.