by Gilbert Wandera

Who will join Agro Chemical down the Nationwide road?

It is only a matter of 90 minutes that separates either Bandari and Red Berets from Kenyan Premier League (KPL) or Nationwide next season.

As the 2009 Kenyan Premier League concludes today, two teams face the dreaded relegation axe. The league runner-ups will also be known as ousted champions Mathare United and Thika United scrap for the bridesmaid position.

While Mathare and Thika can look forward to queuing behind champions Sofapaka, Bandari, Berets and Agro will have to stage great escapes to maintain their top-flight status.

The coast-based side has seemingly the hardest fixture of all the relegation candidates with a dreaded date with Mathare at Nyayo National Stadium on Saturday.

Yusuf Chippo, will have a nervy afternoon to contend with since he will be standing astride Mathare coach, Francis Kimanzi whom they worked with last year for Harambee Stars. A win over the 2008 champions is not an easy challenge for Chippo.

Going to the deciding weekend, Bandari occupy 14th place, the last position to guarantee safety, two points ahead of Berets and four better of Agro who were beaten 1-0 by Chemelil in a mid-week fixture.

Red Berets coach Caleb Okuku makes a point to his charges. Photo: Stafford/Standard

A win for Bandari will automatically guarantee the coastal side a place in top flight football next season as they would increase their points tally to 32.

Red Berets on the other hand face Nairobi City Stars at Afraha Stadium also this afternoon hoping for a win which will see them increase their points tally to 30 .

This may not be enough to see them survive relegation especially if Bandari win.

However, the fate of Agro has been sealed sealed as they can only attain 26 points after playing all their second leg matches. They take on a resurgent AFC Leopards at home today in what could be their last top flight match this season.

Both Bandari and Berets find themselves in a familiar position to last year when they had to wait for the last round of matches to be assured of survival.

Will it be second time lucky for Bandari? The coastal side has the sympathy of many people considering that they are the only team in top-flight football from the province and many would be saddened to see them go.

The General Service Unit outfit on the other hand will have to find out what went wrong this time around especially after firing former coach Mwangi Kiragu and had hoped to be among the top contenders this season.

The story of Agro is even sadder. They finished third last season with their former coach Henry Omino being voted the runner-up coach of the year.

At the top, two points separate former champions Mathare and third placed Thika United as they battle for second spot.

This means that both teams are capable of finishing second, but each hope the other falters to run away with second position.

Thika finish the season at home where they face former champions Ulinzi in what is expected to be a tricky match as the soldiers are out in search for a respectable finish. Fourth-placed Gor Mahia and Tusker who are in fifth position are both capable of finishing third but only if they win this weekend.

Tusker take on Chemelil Sugar today at Kasarani while Gor will be at Sher Karuturi. Another battle will also be going on among the players as the season comes to an end.

After this weekend’s matches the league’s top scorer will also be known. It will be between Sofapaka’s John Baraza and Tusker’s Joseph Emeka. Baraza has 15 goals so far while Emeka has 14.