Stima Charge To The Top, Sofapaka Deny Leopards First SPL Victory
22nd December 2018
Previous front runners, Mathare and Bandari drop first points of the campaign after being forced to 1-1 draws in Saturday's action
- Stima recovered from a goal down at the Moi Stadium, Kisumu to beat Kakamega Homeboyz FC 2-1 with super sub Kennedy Otieno notching a brace to take his team top with maximum nine points from three victories on the bounce
- Elsewhere, Mathare United FC and Bandari FC dropped their first points of the season after they were held to 1-1 draws by visiting Ulinzi Stars FC and home side KCB FC in that order.
- That paved way for the battle between Sofapaka and Leopards and it was debutant Juma who had the last word to a pulsating encounter when he salvaged a draw from the jaws of defeat for the 2009 league winners Batoto ba Mungu
NAIROBI, Kenya- Promoted Western Stima FC shot to the outright lead of the SportPesa Premier League on Saturday as new AFC Leopards SC head coach, Marko Vesiljevic was denied victory away to Sofapaka FC.
Stima recovered from a goal down at the Moi Stadium, Kisumu to beat Kakamega Homeboyz FC 2-1 with super sub Kennedy Otieno notching a brace to take his team top with maximum nine points from three victories on the bounce.
At the Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos, Sofapaka’s Cornelius Juma netted with a minute of the 90 to go to force a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw with Leopards who are yet to win in the SPL this term.
Elsewhere, Mathare United FC and Bandari FC dropped their first points of the season after they were held to 1-1 draws by visiting Ulinzi Stars FC and home side KCB FC in that order.
After two rounds of SPL, Mathare, Stima, Homeboyz and Bandari put their perfect record on the line on Saturday and at the end of the day, it was the 2018 second division National Super League champions who will be looking down on the rest of the competition.
Titleholders and record 17-time league winners, Gor Mahia FC and SportPesa Shield champions, Kariobangi Sharks FC were absent from domestic duty as they travelled to Nigeria and Ghana for the return leg of their CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup assignments.
In Kisumu, Paul Ogai’s power men fell behind when Peter Thiong’o who scored in the 3-0 stuffing of Leopards, put Homeboyz ahead in the 35th minute coming after Stima lost their goal keeper Gabriel Andika to injury.
Double switch
Trailing 0-1 at half time, Ogai rung the changes with Henry Onyango, the hero in Stima’s 1-0 victory over Tusker FC entering the fray and 10 minutes later, a double switch saw Wesley Kemboi and Hubert Kopany benched for Otieno and Baron Oketch.
The gamble paid off handsomely when Otieno levelled the contest at 1-1 in the 73rd with fellow substitute Onyango claiming the assist and it got better in the 81st when he beat David Juma for the winner after he was sprung clear with only the Homeboyz custodian to beat.
Victory continued the storming start to the 2018/19 SPL season for Stima who bounced back to the top flight at the first time of asking last term.
Machakos hosted a double header with Bandari who claimed the scalps of Gor and Sofapaka in their opening two games coming up against KCB who were yet to register for the season hoping to extend their clean start to the campaign.
Skipper Felly Lumumba put Bandari ahead in the first half but the game ended all square when new signing Clinton Kisiavuki rescued a point for Frank Ouna’s side to put their first points on the board since returning to the top division after three seasons in the second tier.
That paved way for the battle between Sofapaka and Leopards and it was debutant Juma who had the last word to a pulsating encounter when he salvaged a draw from the jaws of defeat for the 2009 league winners Batoto ba Mungu.
Marvin Nabwire gave Vesiljevic the ideal start to his tenure when he put Leopards in front five minutes to the match with a pile driver from the edge of the box after being set up by Aziz Okaka.
Stormed back
Sofapaka stormed back to tie the contest when Michael Oduor stunned Ingwe keeper, Erick Ndaiyshimiye, with the Rwandese finding no answer from his curler from outside the box in the early exchanges of the second stanza.
Okaka gave Leopards who had drawn and lost their opening two fixtures the scent of victory when he scored the second in the 75th but it was not to be as the 11-time champions failed to hold on to the advantage.
Francis Kimanzi and his Mathare outfit lined-up at Kasarani keen on making a statement victory over Ulinzi in this encounter of the 2008 and 2010 league winners.
Having scored thrice last weekend in their 3-0 and 3-1 victories over Nzoia Sugar FC and KCB, the slumboys and the visiting soldiers however, failed to find the net as the well-balanced clash ended in a barren stalemate.
Cliff Nyakeya, Mathare’s danger man spurned two good scoring opportunities in the 23rd and 57th minutes with Chrispin Oduor finding the post just past the hour mark as Kimanzi’s boys fashioned the better chances.