With slim margins separating KPL teams, fans are bracing for interesting season-ender run-ins
A photo finish in the 2019/2020 continues looming large going by the slim winning margins registered by most front-liners at the weekend.
Undoubtedly, however, Kakamega Homeboyz was the team of the weekend after securing the highest score in their 6-0 drubbing of Chemelil Sugar at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega.
League leaders Gor Mahia and Ulinzi Stars who lie in the 5th position had to fight every inch of their way to post identical 3-2 victories over Zoo Kericho and Kisumu All Stars. Zoo and Kisumu All stars are both rated rank outsiders in the top tier league but going by their gallant show against fancied opposition, their rivals in the remaining matches can underrate them at their own peril.
Gor, whose strikers had earlier been vilified by the team’s coach Steve Polack for naivety, had to come from a goal behind to silence a stubborn Zoo. Boniface Omondi, Nicholas Kipkirui and Samuel Onyango repaid the tactician’s faith when they each scored a goal.
The win saw Gor build a four-point lead with 48 points although it was the uncompromising Kakamega Homeboyz who hogged the headlines with the massacre of Chemelil Sugar in a result which saw them maintain their second position in the chart.
Homeboyz’s convincing victory left the team’s trainer Nicholas Muyoti elated.
“I must give the players plaudits for a job well done although it would be wrong to be carried away by the win since there are more matches remaining to complete the league. We are still work in progress and would rather take each game at a time,” said Muyoti.
In the meantime, Ulinzi Stars took a major stride towards catching up with the leading pack after outsmarting relegation haunted Kisumu All Stars.
For Ulinzi, the hard fought win came as a huge relief to them after they had settled to an uninspiring 1-1 draw with Nzoia Sugar the previous week in Bungoma.
As Ulinzi and Gor were struggling to cobble up wins against underdogs, it was not a good weekend for third placed Tusker whose efforts to dislodge second placed Homeboys were jolted by Wazito who held them to a one-all draw.
On the flip side, Tusker have a game at hand over both Gor and Homeboyz and will be hoping to win it to be within touching distance of the league summit.
Elsewhere, Bandari had something to enthuse about in a 3-1 thrashing of Posta Rangers though the dockers have to continue posting more positive results to haul themselves up from an odd 11th position in the league chart.
Fourth placed KCB is yet another team which is doing well in the league and the bankers who beat Mathare United 3-1 can dream of bagging a maiden KPL title.
