AFC Leopards breathe down Gor’s neck, Shabana back to winning ways

Title-starved AFC Leopards on Sunday cut the gap on leaders Gor Mahia to four points after a 1-0 win over Kariobangi Sharks in a Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) match played at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.

At the same time, the race to the season’s Golden Boot award also intensified, with Ulinzi Stars striker Paul Okoth closing the gap on leader Joseph Waithira of Murang’a Seal to just three goals. The 30-year-old Waithira tops the scorers’ chart with 15 goals, while Okoth, 22, follows with 12 goals.

Yesterday, midfielder Tyson Otieno scored the all-important goal for Leopards against Sharks in the 59th minute via a stunning strike that left the club’s fans in jubilation.

Thanks to the narrow victory, Leopards, who are chasing their first league title since 1998, increased their points tally to 52 from 26 matches. Gor Mahia top the standings with 56 points from 25 matches. Gor were not in action over the weekend since several of their players are with the national team, Harambee Stars, at the 2026 Fifa Series in Rwanda. Tusker and the Kenya Police were also not in action for the same reason.

Sportpesa Derby

At Gusii Stadium in Kisii, title hopefuls Shabana bounced back to winning ways with a slim 1-0 victory over Murang'a Seal. A 42nd minute strike by defender Wycliffe Awiko handed Shabana the maximum points in the fixture dubbed Sportpesa Derby since both teams are sponsored by the giant gaming firm.

Before yesterday's win, Shabana had lost three consecutive matches: AFC Leopards (5-1), Kariobangi Sharks (1-2), and Gor Mahia (2-1). It was the first win for Shabana's interim coach, Andrew Ongwae, who took over from Peter Okidi until the end of the current campaign. Okidi was fired on March 17 following the three losses.

“I thank my players for the victory. It was not easy to play against them, but I thank God we found the winning goal,” Ongwae said after the match. His opposite number, Osborne Monday, said his team lost the match because of wastefulness in front of goal.

“We did not take our chances, and that cost us the game,” Monday, who was part of Shabana's technical bench last season before decamping to Murang’a Seal, said. Following the win, Shabana returned to third place in the standings with 43 points while Murang’a remained sixth on 38 points.

Heavy rains

Earlier at the same venue, APS Bomet and Nairobi United settled for a goalless draw. The match between the two sides was slated for Saturday, but it was halted at halftime due to heavy rains that rendered the playing surface unplayable. The match continued from the second half.

In the race for the Golden Boot award, Waithira has now gone five matches without finding the back of the net, and Okoth took the chance to narrow the gap.

In a previous interview with Nation Sport, Waithira said his target is to clinch this season’s Golden Boot and score at least 20 goals. As for Okoth, after enduring a nine-match dry spell, he has now scored three goals in his last two matches.

The win over Sofapaka boosted Ulinzi’s chances of avoiding relegation this season, while for the “Batoto ba Mungu”, it compounded their woes at the bottom of the table. Ulinzi sit 14th with 25 points while Sofapaka are 18th with 15 points.

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