FKF-PL: Gor's 'Sirkal' out to make Police toe the line

Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) resumes this weekend after a two-week break with champions Gor Mahia out to extend their lead when they visit Kenya Police at Police Sacco Stadium in South C Nairobi.

The 20th round of the topflight league will also see AFC Leopards and Shabana take on Nairobi City Stars and Kariobangi Sharks respectively on Sunday.

Five matches will be played on Saturday with another four scheduled for Sunday across different venues. Focus will also be on the struggling teams, Nzoia Sugar and Muhoroni Youth who are at the bottom of the standing.

Tempers are expected to flare as Gor Mahia and Kenya Police go head-to-head at the 5,000 capacity Police Sacco Stadium due to the exorbitant gate charges set by the host team.

Kenya Police CEO Chris Oguso in an interview with a local radio station confirmed that they had changed the gate charges to prevent Gor Mahia fans from turning up in numbers at Police Sacco stadium. 

The terrace tickets are being sold at Sh1,5000, VIPS Sh2,000 and VVIP Sh3,000, gate charges which Gor fans have questioned. 

“As management we were denied Nyayo Stadium by the stadium board and Ulinzi Sports Complex management also decided we couldn’t host the game there. Our ground is small and can’t contain all the fans, so the federation allowed us to have only 500 fans for the game.

“Security will be tight and if you don’t have a ticket don’t come to Police Sacco Stadium. The game will be live on Azam TV and following the regulations we have been given with the federation, only a limited number of fans will be allowed,” said Oguso. 

The decision has been condemned by Gor fans who have questioned how hooliganism is being used to deny Kenya Police a chance to host the game at Nyayo yet the law enforcers have not had any incident of crowd trouble in recent times. 

On the pitch, Gor will be aiming for maximum points against Kenya Police who have only beaten them once in the topflight league. The two sides have met five times with K'Ogalo winning twice, two matches ending in a draw and a loss.

The first leg played on November 5 last year ended in a 0-0 draw. 

Gor lead the log on 43 points while Kenya Police are sixth on 30 points.

Some of the players who have turned out for K’Ogalo previously and are currently at Kenya Police are Musa Mohamed, Harun Shakava, Samuel Onyango, Francis Kahata, Kenneth Muguna and Tito Okello.

AFC Leopards will be hoping strikers Rwandese Arthur Gitego and 19-year-old Christopher Koloti, who arrived at the club this week, will hit the ground running. Sharks have have an uphill task as they have not beaten AFC Leopards in the last four meetings. 

Leopards, who had a poor start to the season, have been on a steady rise and currently have 24 points while Sharks are 15th on 19 points. With the arrival of Gitego and Koloti, Leopards coach Tomas Trucha is confident that Ingwe's goal scoring woes will now be an forgotten case. 

Shabana face a stern test in their revival under coach Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo when they play City Stars at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos.

Simba wa Nairobi are second on 33 points and saw their eight-match unbeaten run end with a 2-0 loss to AFC Leopards at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega two weeks ago.

Fixtures (All matches start at 3pm unless stated)

Saturday 

Tusker v Bidco United (Kenyatta, Machakos, 1pm) 

Nzoia Sugar v Posta Rangers (Sudi, Bungoma) 

Kenya Police v Gor Mahia (Police Sacco, Nairobi, 3pm) 

Kakamega Homeboyz v Muhoroni Youth (Bukhungu, Kakamega) 

Sofapaka v KCB (Kenyatta, Machakos) 

Sunday 

Nairobi City Stars v Shabana (Kenyatta, Machakos) 

Murang’a Seal v Bandari (SportPesa Arena, Murang’a) 

Kariobangi Sharks v AFC Leopards (Nyayo, Nairobi) 

Ulinzi Stars v FC Talanta (Ulinzi Sports Complex, Nairobi)