Ingwe concedes highest number of goals in derby as ‘Otenga’ prick Sharks in Kisumu
The big news in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) matches at the weekend was neither the significant change in the standings nor the goal glut witnessed, but the biggest loss AFC Leopards suffered at the hands of their perennial adversaries Gor Mahia in their 87th Mashemeji Derby in Kasarani on Sunday.
When the two giants collided at Kasarani on Sunday, Gor, who are back in the driving seat of the 18-team chart, easily thumped Leopards 4-1 in what will go down in history of Kenyan football as the biggest loss Ingwe has ever taken from their nemesis.
With Gor increasingly having an upper hand over Leopards in local derbies, the latter’s fans were left asking whether the misfortune is as a result of hoodoo of sorts.
And what is bound to irk Ingwe’s fans is that there is an unwritten rule that a win for K’Ogalo whenever they meet the big cats is a foregone conclusion even before a match starts.
Ivorian forward Gnamien Gislain Yikpe led from the front in Gor’s massacre of Leopards, scoring a brace with Cliffton Miheso and Lawrence Juma providing the other goals and it was least surprising when the team’s coach Steve Polack heaped praises on his charges. “It feels good to win a local derby but the first half definitely belonged to AFC Leopards but they did not take their chances. Our halftime pep talk changed everything for us and we played better in the second half. I laud the boys for the effort but we have 27 more league games and we have to replicate the performance,” he said after the match.
Since slumping to a shock 1-0 defeat by Mathare few days earlier which saw their unbeaten record shattered, Gor seems to have learned their lessons with the success against Leopards moving them to the top of the log with 18 points with two matches at hand over the rest of the teams.
Following the loss, Leopards who were gracing the first three position before the duel, dropped to the seventh slot with 15 points from nine matches.
In the meantime, another shocker of the weekend came in form of Kariobangi Sharks 1-0 loss away to Kisumu All Stars who are gracing the lower reaches of the league.
Sharks have not won four of their last four matches and these statistics are bound to worry them going into their next fixture against Ulinzi Stars on November 21.
During a weekend in which 25 goals were scored, four teams including Sofapaka, Kakamega Homeboyz, Ulinzi Stars and Zoo Kericho held their nerve to record maximum points.
