Anxiety is the best word to describe the feeling Allan Wanga could be going through right now as Kenyan Premier League fans awaited to know the 2018/19 Golden Boot winner.
The league was meant to come to a conclusion on Wednesday until the spirit of confusion once again marred the domestic League in the mid-week action after the referees, the Kenyan Premier League Limited, Ulinzi Stars and Mount Kenya United happened.
First, Mount Kenya United arrived at the match venue almost one hour late. Worse still, the already relegated side came to the match with uniform colours similar to those of Ulinzi Stars. By the time they secured a second set of uniform, the referee had already given a walkover in favour of Ulinzi.
But after a lengthy consultation KPL quashed the referee’s decision only to reschedule the game to Sunday
“Kenyan Premier League regrets the unfortunate events that led to the SPL 2018-19 Round 34 match between Ulinzi Stars FC and Mount Kenya United FC not being played today at the Afraha Stadium, Nakuru,” KPL said in a statement.
“As every effort was being made to ensure that match is played under prescribed conditions; the match officials called off the match after a misunderstanding, left the match venue, and it was not possible to get them to return and have the match played.”
“Since both teams were at the match venue and were ready to play, a decision has been made to reschedule the match to Sunday, June 2, 2019 at the same venue (Afraha Stadium), kick off 3:00 PM.”
The late drama means that Wanga who leads the top scorers’ chart with 18 goals, will have to wait until Sunday to know whether he will be crowned the best scorer for the 2018/19 season.
The Kakamega Homeboyz striker is one goal ahead of Ulinzi’s Enosh Ochieng who still has a game with Mount Kenya.
Meanwhile, Posts Rangers will have to go through the relegation play-offs with a team that shall finish second in the National Super League. This is after Zoo FC beat KCB 2-0 to finish 15th, a place above the mail delivery men.
Vihiga United and Mount Kenya dropped to the second tier.
There is a bad trend among Kenyan Premier League teams of skiving matches which if not tamed will hinder soccer growth in the country.
For the third time this season, a walkover was given in the Kenyan Premier League — the top most domestic football competition on the land.
A broke Mountain Kenya United seems to have normalised this bad habit of giving away three points. Nzoia Sugar also did it on Wednesday.
Mountain Kenya United failed to honour their fixtures against Gor Mahia and Zoo Kericho as players downed tools over seven-month unpaid dues.
While Mountain Kenya United players might have a justifiable reason to skip their last two fixtures, one might argue, Nzoia took full advantage of the confusion that is becoming a norm in the league that is still recovering from the shock exit of broadcast partners, SuperSport.
Since SuperSport’s exit from the Kenya 25 months ago, the local League still has no official TV partners with Kenyan Premier League not coming out to define the scope of their relationship with MediaPro, a media company contracted to air selected league matches.
Nzoia, whose official home ground is Sudi Stadium, were meant to play a resurgent AFC Leopards, but they failed to show up at the Bukhungu Stadium and instead went to their alternative ground –Mumia Sports Centre — after KPL made late changes on the venue without consulting the home team.
But with just a couple of games to the end of the season, there are many more positives to talk about.
Gor Mahia on course for 18th league title
A lot can happen in a game of football, but if all factors remain constant, then K’Ogalo can dip the champagne in ice in readiness for their 18th ‘State’ function.
The reigning champions have already opened a six-point lead at the top and the gap might stretch even further should they beat KCB on Sunday.
The fact that Hassan Oktay side still have a game at hand doesn’t make the situation any better for their closest challengers like second placed Sofapaka and Bandari.
Title pretenders
Both Sofapaka and Bandari were potential title contenders, but the Dockers, whose best performance in the League so far remain a second place finish last season, dropped points in the tough months of February and March to allow Sofapaka, the 2009 champions overtake them. But even for John Baraza side, it has not been a smooth sailing. Batoto Ba Mungu parted ways with American coach Melis Medo after just six games into the season where they won just one.
The two sides, alongside Mathare United have since been christened title pretenders. Mathare started the season on a good note and at one point were five points above the rest. But no one, not even coach Francis Kimanzi can tell where exactly the rain started beating the 2008 champions, who currently sit fourth on the log and 15 points adrift of leaders Gor Mahia.
But while the top four teams, save for K’Ogalo, are finding it hard wading through one of toughest KPL seasons, if there is one team that will need a standing ovation when the final whistle of the 2018/19 season rings in our ears, then it’s none other than AFC Leopards come to mind.
In February, Ingwe were fighting relegation. Barely four months after the coming on board of Rwandan tactician Casa Mbungo, the Big Cats have since jumped to eighth on the log in one of the miraculous turn around by any club in the KPL history.
Free points on Wednesday after Nzoia failed to show up, saw Ingwe take their point tally to 37 and even if they were to lose all their remaining matches, they are still assured of a top flight competition next season.
The same turn-around was also seen at Kakamega Homeboyz whose poor performance at the start of the season was littered by claims of match-fixing prompting club management to fire Ugandan tactician Paul Nkata, but are now fifth on the table above Tusker.
The same, however, cannot be said of SportPesa Shield Cup defending champions Kariobangi Sharks and Western Stima. The two sides who had a good start off the blocks find themselves in positions 10th and 13th respectively.
Greece-based Harambee Stars winger Paul Were has re-joined AFC Leopards.
Were returned to the Dens after a short stint with Trikala FC who plays in the Greek League.
“Welcome back to the Den, Paul Were,” the club posted on its official Facebook page without giving more details about the new deal.
Journeyman Were played for AFC Leopards between 2012 and 2014 before he left for a short stint with Amazulu of South Africa, where he made only five appearances.
After that, the former Tusker forward moved to Greece where he signed for Kalloni, then switched to Acharnaikos and then to Kalamata before crossing to Kazakhstani Premier League where he signed for Kaysar FC.
Ingwe have also raided Mount Kenya United for the services of midfielder Boniface Mukhekhe.
Mukhekhe penned a two-year deal with the 13-time Kenyan champions on Monday.
Melis Medo has vowed to take Sofapaka to court for wrongful termination of a contract.
The American was released by Batoto Ba Mungu just six games into his two-year contract after Elly Kalekwa convinced him to cross over from Nakumatt (now Mount Kenya United) at the end of the 2018 season.
But Medo, who accused a section of Sofapaka backroom staf of sabotage, now says that he will be moving to court to seek legal redress even though he has promised to donate the money to charity if he wins the legal battle.
“Everybody is sabotaging everybody; I don’t know what they call themselves-Batoto Ba Mungu whatever. It’s not a good environment. I’m actually happy that I’ve been out of there.”
“I’m praying that I left that place. Not a good place! None of them, they are all fake. Whatever they do, I am not going to get involved because I’m going to go after them, legally, and all that money I’m going to get from them,” Medo said.
The America of Algerian decent says he has a watertight case especially after he got a copy of his contract behind the doors. “They thought I don’t have a contract. One of them sent me a copy of the contract; imagine how they betray each other. They owe me a lot of money but do you know what I’m going to do with it? God is my witness, I’ll donate it.”
“That money is not good. The lawyer will get his own (share); the rest I’ll buy balls and bibs for locals here. They are short-sighted. They never went to school for two weeks. Some of them cannot spell ‘China’, so I’m okay with that,” an infuriated Medo told Kutv.
Medo is currently back with Mount Kenya United and despite facing financial difficulties with the side, the tactician says that he’s not willing to leave a struggling side, not anytime soon.
“I got an offer from a neighbouring country, but I am too emotional about coaching. I’m not going to leave these players (Mount Kenya United) just because of money.”
AFC Leopards are searching for a new coach after Serbian Marko Vasiljevic resigned following a 4-1 drubbing by Bandari in one of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) matches over the weekend.
The 25-year-old is said to have informed his players of the decision after the match.
When contacted, Leopards secretary general Oscar Igaida was non-committal.
“We shall issue a comprehensive statement on Tuesday,” he said.
Further reports indicate a new foreign coach is already in town and could be assisted by the Serbian who took over the team following the departure of another Serbian Nikola Kavazovic.
Kavazovic, 43, ditched Ingwe for South African Premier Soccer League side Free State Stars November last year barely after penning a two-year contract.
Vasiljevic, who had been appointed Nikola’s assistant, was handed the mantle but has struggled to put Ingwe on the track this season.
In 10 matches, he has won two, drew four and lost as many leaving the 13-time KPL champions lying 15th on the 18-team log with 10 points.
Mathare unbeaten streak halted
In Nakuru, pre-match favourites Mount Kenya United halted Mathare United’s unbeaten run of 10 games this term with a 2-1 result at Afraha stadium on Saturday.
Previously, Mount Kenya, formerly known as Nakumatt had beaten the Slum Boys twice with one match ending in a draw. Mathare had posted just a single victory.
Mount Kenya coach Medo Melis is yet to lose to his opposite number Francis Kimanzi since joining the Kenyan football last year.
For many, it seemed a shocking result but not to statisticians who had the two teams’ head to head records at their fingertips.
The defeat allowed Bandari to reduce the gap to three points with a match in hand casting more doubts on Mathare’s charge for the title.
Kimanzi blamed the loss to fatigue. “The boys hadn’t rested enough coming from a rigorous derby in midweek and so it took a toll on the fixture,” he claimed.
Tusker, who battled to a scoreless draw with Posta Rangers at Kenyatta stadium in Machakos on Saturday, are third on 18 points, just six behind Mathare.
“We would’ve picked maximum points but Posta came for a draw and they got it, they sat back the entire match waiting to break on the counter but also we were disorganized, that cohesion in all departments wasn’t there,” lamented Tusker coach Robert Matano after their draw.
On Sunday, Ugandan import Umaru Kasumba and Cliff Kasuti scored a goal apiece to help Sofapaka end Kariobangi Sharks’ unbeaten start to the season.
It was a weekend that saw two teams who had their unbeaten record intact broken – Mathare United and K-Sharks.
WEEKEND RESULTS
Saturday
Posta Rangers 0-0 Tusker (Kenyatta stadium, Machakos)
Mount Kenya United 2-1 Mathare United (Afraha stadium, Nakuru)
Mount Kenya United finally delivered the elusive victory in the best fashion only Melis Medo can when they ended Mathare United’s 11-match unbeaten run with a 2-1 win on Saturday.
Mount Kenya had toiled for 900 minutes on the pitch without a single victory, but Medo, the American coach who was released by Sofapaka after just six games into the season for poor performances did what no any coach has done this season when he picked maximum points against the Slum Boys.
The defeat comes just days after Mathare blew away another two points against Kariobangi Sharks, denting their quest for a second league title.
Mathare United took the lead through a Crispin Oduor’s well-slotted penalty kick after Cliff Nyakeya was brought down in the box.
But Mount Kenya pulled off a miraculous comeback just five minutes later after Peter Amani headed former Gor Mahia’s midfielder Moses Odhiambo’s free kick for an equalizer.
Amani was not done yet when he scored the winner from the spot after he was brought down in the box.
The win left Tusker joint second with 18 points with Bandari who have a game at hand.
Despite the lost points, Mathare United are still four points at the top, though the margin could shrink further down should Bandari beat AFC Leopards on Sunday.
Elsewhere Posta Rangers denied Tusker a chance to cut Mathare’s lead at the top of the log to within four points after both sides settled for a 0-0 draw.
Dennis Oliech once again showed his predatory instincts after coming off the bench to score his second Kenyan Premier League goal as Gor Mahia crushed Mount Kenya United 4-1 on Wednesday.
The former Harambee Stars captain, and Kenya’s all-time record scorer with 34 goals, made it two goals in two games in a game played at Moi Sports Centre, Nairobi, the very place he scored his first goal for the national team over a decade ago.
Oliech took only 22 minutes on the pitch, after coming on for unsettled Ephrem Guikan, to hit his second goal in three games in the green shirt of K’Ogalo.
Oliech’s team mate Ugandan Erisa Ssekisambu grabbed a hit a hat trick as Hassan Oktay picked a third straight victory in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Guikan’s days at Gor Mahia, and perhaps in the Kenyan Premier League, could be coming to an end after the Ivorian once again gave a clear hint that he’s not in good terms with Oktay if not the entire technical bench.
Guikan, who joined Gor Mahia at the start of the 2018 season from AS Port Louis 2000 of Madagascar, walked straight to the changing room after he was substituted late in the first half.
This is the second time that the Ivorian, who reportedly fell out with former coach Dylan Kerr and was set to leave the club until he learned that Kerr was heading to South Africa, stormed out of Gor Mahia’s camp last Wednesday at Moi Sports Centre after he learned that his name was not in the matchday squad that beat Posta Rangers 2-1.
Gor Mahia will next face off with New Star in the return leg of the CAF Confederation Cup playoff.
K’Ogalo will carry a 2-1 advantage into the reverse fixture away in Cameroon.