Kenyan Premier League News Round-Up: 19th February 2020

The Kenyan Premier League is a gift that keeps on giving without letting off. Currently, Gor Mahia is still top of the league with 45 points, 4 points above Tusker who have a game in hand. Homeboyz FC is also with 41 points and sits 3rd on the table. It seems like the leaders Gor won’t have it easy this season despite their dominance over the years.

Other teams like KCB, Sofapaka and Ulinzi, though still in the running have less hope and the best they can hope for is to finish in the 4th -6th positions. There are, of course, the likes of AFC who will also be looking to crash into those top position come the end of the season. This, by far, will go down as one of the most competitive seasons in the KPL in recent years.

Here’s are all the big stories doing rounds in the Kenyan Premier League today.

Poor Officiating Cost KCB

"It is very unfair if you can work throughout the week and something like that happens. Mupaima is a very experienced referee and is supposed to give out a soft penalty,"

"We conceded another very easy goal, so it was going to be a tough order for us. By the time we scored the consolation goal, it was late and you could see how Bandari players were wasting time but that is football. It is very unfair to play in Mombasa in February at 2, it is not good players. I think we can be playing at 3 or 4 but at 2 it is unfair to players. Not only on my side but both teams."

Those were the exact words of KCB head coach Zedekiah Otieno after his team lost to Bandari FC. This was KCB’s second loss to Bandari this season, but KCB head coach doesn’t think it came out fairly.

The main point of contention by KCB was the penalty given to Bandari which Mwana scored. The KCB coach actually believes that the penalty was it not for poor officiating, shouldn’t have stood.

KCB currently sit 4th on the league with 38 points from 20 games. This leaves them 7 points behind Gor who are the league leaders.

Asieche Is Kenya's Kevin De Bruyne

This is such high praise for one of Kenyan football current stars. After Sofapaka managed to beat champions and current leaders Gor Mahia, Kenyan attacking midfielder Ellie Asieche came under high praise.

Promise Chinonso, who scored both goals in the 2-1 win is the one that gave the praise to the midfielder. He said,

“He’s a special player, for me he’s the Kenyan version of ‘Kevin De Bruyne’ very intelligent on the ball and whenever he has the ball we know how to just position ourselves because he delivers to you to finish off. I wish him the very best now and in the future.”

Chinonso who was signed by Sofapaka in January and only scored his first goal(s) against Gor was ecstatic. The win pushed Sofapaka to 8th on the league with 30 points 15 behind Gor Mahia.

Tusker Will Fight For The KPL

When the Kenyan Premier League season got to the half-way point, the only team that seemed to be pushing Gor Mahia FC for the league were Tusker FC. Currently, the likes of Homeboyz and KCB are also in the running. But that doesn’t take away Tusker who are still want to win the league, at least according to winger Luke Namanda.

The young wing-forward has scored 5 goals for the Brewers insists Tusker are still able to win the league. And the fact that Tusker is second on the league with 41 points, 4 behind Gor give the words more credit. Also, Tusker FC has one game in hand, if they win they’ll be a point behind the Champions. Here’s what Namanda had to say,

"It is about taking one game at a time here, we are not interested in what other teams are doing,"

"We want to keep winning, getting as many wins consistently to push for the top position. It is not easy because other teams have the same target, but our determination will push us to give our best. We want to continue pushing to the end, and that means winning the league."

The player also stated his ambitions of scoring at least 10 goals for the brewers before the season ends.

Edited by A. Ayush Chatterjee