SportPesa Cup Magic Moments: 'Octopus Hands' Manyika Shines Over Leopards
18th January 2019
Singida keeper had a memorable afternoon at Afraha stadium as his team exacted revenge over the Kenyan giants in the fourth quarterfinal of the 2018 edition
- In the second part of this series, we salute the heroics of Tanzania side Singida United FC goalkeeper, Peter Manyika Jr, whose ‘octopus hands’ in goal stole the show when his team earned revenge against Kenyan giants, AFC Leopards SC in the 2018 tournament
- The crowd went into delirium in the 69th when Jaffary was brought down in the box but they were soon holding their heads in despair when star midfielder Whyvonne Isuza squandered the chance to take his team 1-0 up when Manyika saved his spot kick
- His performance rattled Leopards who lost their nerve in the shootout as Singida progressed to the semis where they fell 0-2 to champions Gor Mahia FC
DAR-ES-SALAAM, Kenya- The previous two editions of the SportPesa Cup- formerly known as the SportPesa Super Cup- gave local football talent from Tanzania and Kenya a chance to shine at the East African stage.
Established as a tribute to the intense rivalry between the two nations that started in back in the 1920s when the Gossage Cup-the front-runner to the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup- the invitational eight-team knockout competition has grown to be a key date in the regional calendar.
In the SportPesa Cup Magic Moments series in the run up to the third edition that kicks off on Tuesday (January 22) to January 27, we look back at the defining contributions of players who seized the opportunity to shine at the 2017 and 18 editions.
In the second part of this series, we salute the heroics of Tanzania side Singida United FC goalkeeper, Peter Manyika Jr, whose ‘octopus hands’ in goal stole the show when his team earned revenge against Kenyan giants, AFC Leopards SC in the 2018 tournament.
When the draw for the June 2 to 10 second SportPesa Cup was held, fate landed AFC Leopards SC of Kenya and Singida yet again in the quarterfinals.
Coming to the contest, the Tanzanians were keen to avenge their defeat on after throwing away the lead against Leopards in the second quarterfinal of the inaugural edition played at Uhuru Stadium, Dar-es-Salaam on June 5.
Tafadzwa Kutinyu had given Singida the lead with 10 minutes gone but Vincent Oburu levelled matters in the 63rd to set up a shootout when the match ended all square at 1-1. Leopards kept the nerve to knock Singida out 5-4 in a marathon shootout.
Coincidentally, exactly one year later on June 5, 2018, the two sides met again in the fourth quarterfinal with Leopards, then Kenya domestic cup champions expected to steamroll over Singida who had come off a mid table finish in their league.
Warmed glove
However, Manyika had not read the script as he went on to produce a Manchester United FC stopper- David de Gea-esque performance for Singida to earn revenge over Leopards when they stunned them 4-2 on you guessed it, post match penalties.
Manyika warmed his gloves in the 24th when he thwarted what was in truth, a rushed finish from Jaffari Odeny.
A stinging Robinson Kamura free kick in the 39th forced extended the Singida keeper to a flying save as the teams went to the interval locked at 0-0.
After the break, the home side started with more hunger and yet another Kamura set piece special brought another fine save from Manyika with two minutes barely on the clock.
The Singida keeper kept the scores tied at 0-0 when he kept the follow up shot by Victor Majid brilliantly.
Brian Marita then pulled another good stop from Manyika with a well-struck free kick in the 65th as Leopards kept up the pressure, looking more likely to break the deadlock.
The crowd went into delirium in the 69th when Jaffary was brought down in the box but they were soon holding their heads in despair when star midfielder Whyvonne Isuza squandered the chance to take his team 1-0 up when Manyika saved his spot kick.
In his defence, the Singida keeper was having one of those days in goal where he would have even stopped reggae music!
With five minutes left in the game Leopards threw the kitchen sink at Singida in an effort to force a late winner and Jaffary dribbled past two defenders and sent in a right-footed shot that was saved by the alert Mayika once again.
His performance rattled Leopards who lost their nerve in the shootout as Singida progressed to the semis where they fell 0-2 to champions Gor Mahia FC.
Manyika’s talent at the SP Cup alerted a number of SportPesa Premier League teams and after leaving Singida last September, he was one of the nine new signings of promoted side KCB FC.