Title race wide open: Derby draw sees Gor Mahia lead cut as Sofapaka and Tusker close in

Gor Mahia’s Musa Mohammed battle for the ball against Noah Wafula of AFC Leopards during their KPL match at Nyayo Stadium on Sunday. [PHOTO: BONIFACE OKENDO/STANDARD]

Former champions Tusker and Sofapaka played miles away but were the biggest beneficiaries after Sunday’s ‘Mashemeji’ derby ended in a 2-2 draw at Nyayo Stadium.

The result halted Gor Mahia’s march towards a second title in a row after they threw away a 2-1 lead to share a point with arch-rivals AFC Leopards.

Until AFC Leopard’s Captain Martin Imbalambala scored in the 82nd minute, the KPL champions looked very much in-charge of their own fate and could have easily built an impressive six point lead at the top becoming the first team to hit the 40 point mark.

Going into Sunday’s match, Gor Mahia needed to win eight matches to successfully defend their title but failure to pick maximum points at home has somehow derailed their title ambitions.

After the draw, Gor remain at the top of the standings with 38 points. Former champions Tusker, who picked a point in Mombasa after being held to a 1-1 tie by Bandari, are in second position with 35 points.

This is just three points less than the leaders.
Third placed Sofapaka also moved closer to the top thanks to a 1-0 win away to Western Stima and now have 33 points on the log.

The situation has made the KPL a three-horse race where Gor Mahia looked unchallenged a week ago.

Let Down

A disappointed Gor Mahia coach Bobby Williamson was unhappy with Sunday’s result insisting they could have done better.

“I am disappointed with the results. We should have done better with the right focus. We were in control until our goalkeeper Jerim Onyango made that mistake that cost us the goal,” he said.
Williamson was, however, careful not to blame his first choice goalkeeper for gifting AFC Leopards the second goal.

The Harambee Stars custodian came under heavy criticism when he came off his line and allowed Martin Imbalambala to equalise with eight minutes to go.

“We should not be too hard on Jerim Onyango. The whole team takes responsibility for the results. He has done quite well for us in the past and that mistake does not warrant the amount of criticism he got today,” he said.

AFC Leopards will claim the bragging rights for this year’s derby following the 2-2 tie as they had won the first leg 3-1 in June at the same venue.
Troubled coach Pietier De Jongh was satisfied with the result but still felt that match officials were not fair on his side.

“I will take the one point. We started well but could not keep up the same pace. However, I take issue with some of the decisions made by match officials. They seem to favour our opponents.”