It was surreal when Quinton Ongo curled over the last of his four penalties at the death to catapult Impala Gazelles back to the Kenya Cup after two seasons in the Championship.
Impala turned the tables on Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, winning at the death 12-11 to silence the partisan crowd at the Kakamega Showground.
It was sweet revenge for Impala, the second most successful team in Kenya Cup history with 10 titles, after they had lost to Masinde Muliro 27-7 in the regular Championship season.
The promotion battle was not over yet when Impala finished fourth after losing in four outings during the regular season - Masinde Muliro (27-7), Daystar Falcons (29-13), South Coast Pirates (26-18) and University of Eldoret (28-0).
Then they would stop Western Bulls 32-17 in the play-offs before silencing Masinde Muliro in their backyard as their paltry travelling fans and players celebrated amidst tears of joy.
“It was unbelievable and simply surreal even though we had in January this year had a serious chat on what we expected in the second phase of the season. We still finished fourth even after we dished out a walkover,” said Impala coach George “Malik” Ndemi.
“The players and fans really shed tears of joy at the end," explained Ndemi, who only took charge as head coach in July last year.
Impala, the last community rugby club to reach the Kenya Cup final during the 2015/2016 season when they lost to Kabras Sugar 22-5 at the Impala Sports Club, were relegated for the first time after the 2021/2022 season.
“Tough and winding...few get to watch the Championship and rarely know what happens there. It involves a lot of travelling to honour fixtures on shoe-string budgets,” explained Ndemi.
“Relegation was inevitable with the club being hit by the exodus of top players,” said Ndemi. “There was no smooth transition since a huge vacuum was left when the aging players and experienced ones left.”
Ndemi noted that the inexperienced players who were left couldn’t compete with the top guns from the well-sponsored Kenya Cup sides.
“The biggest downfall was the transition that wasn’t handled well with the team’s strength and conditioning taking a huge beating,” said Ndemi.
Impala chairman Steve Obondi, who took over in March last year, reckons that the exit of their long-time partners Resolution Health Insurance left the club at criss-cross.
“We found ourselves precarious since it was important to keep the team afloat and morale of players dropped after failing to meet basic requirements,” said Obondi.
“Financial stability attracts talent and that is what we didn’t have, leading to our top players chasing other interests and before we realised the relegation axe had landed on us. Over 15 top players had left,” said Obondi.
Ndemi said being a former Impala player, he had to bring back the culture and philosophy synonymous with the Gazelles.
“We had to bring back player commitment and discipline. We had to have a code of conduct and set clear what we wanted to achieve,” said Ndemi, explaining that when he took charge, it was like starting afresh.
“My philosophy was simple, to put up a process before the performance. I had to impart players with the right skills before I could let them play,” said Ndemi.
Ndemi said his players were ripe to push for their Kenya Cup promotion agenda, which worked well.
Obondi said all his predecessors, including Charles Ngovi, Oduor Gangla, Peter Nduati and Bill Githinji, bought into their back-to-Kenya Cup plans alongside former players like Vincent Makanga and Allan Wamanga.
Obondi knows the Kenya Cup is a tough league altogether hence the need for a stable financial base. He has called on sponsors to come on board and support them.
"The hard work starts now. We can't afford to sleep on our laurels," said Obondi.
"We are going there to win, not just compete," said Ndemi, keen on winning the Championship first.
They will meet South Coast Pirates in the Championship final on April 6 in Diani, Kwale.
