TOO CLOSE TO CALL:Kariobangi Sharks and Zoo win in race for KPL promotion

Zoo FC's Nicholas Kipkurui (left) and Wazito FC's Isaac Okoth during National Super League at Camp Toyoyo on Wednesday, Oct 12, 2016. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

Kariobangi Sharks moved closer to securing promotion to next year’s Kenyan Premier League (KPL) after beating Bidco United 2-0 on Saturday at Thika Municipal Stadium.

Sharks will guarantee themselves second spot in the standings and automatic qualification to next year’s top league if they beat Ligi Ndogo this Friday and third placed Zoo Kericho fail to win their fixture against Talanta on Saturday.

The win on Saturday was the seventh in a row for Sharks and it moved them to 77 points on the log.

It looked like the match would end in a barren draw after Bidco frustrated Shark’s attempt to pick all three points, but things changed in the second half when Ibrahim Kitawi struck the first goal in the 64th minute before Francis Manoah added a second in the 71st minute.

At Kericho Green Stadium, Zoo Kericho stayed closer to KPL promotion after a 2-1 win over Nairobi Stima.

The win pushed Zoo to 75 points just two shy of second placed Sharks with two matches to go.

Determined to pick all three points at home, Zoo Kericho ran to a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from Nicholas Kipkurui and Bernard Wanguche.

Former Kisii glamour boys Shabana fell 2-0 to Nakumatt on Sunday also at Kericho Stadium and with it were relegated from the second tier league.

Nakumatt who consolidated their fourth position on the log were lifted by goals from Timonah Wanyonyi and Joshua Oyoo.

Going into the match, Shabana needed to win it to ensure survival.

This was not to be as Shabana can now only collect 22 points if they win the remaining two matches which will not be enough to ensure safety.

Shabana came into the league late and were always going to find it difficult to catch up with the rest.

The team faced a lot of financial challenges making it almost impossible to honour some matches and it also witnessed the departure of some key players.

For Nakumatt, it was their fifth straight win and one hopes it did not come too little too late. The team has now collected 74 points with two matches before the season winds up.

KCB’s chances of finishing among the top four suffered a huge setback after they were held to a barren draw by Police at Afraha Stadium.

In other matches played at the weekend, Palos won 2-1 against visiting Wazito to end a three-match winless streak.

In Muhoroni, Agro Chemicals thumped Modern Coast Rangers 2-0 while Ligi Ndogo went down 3-0 to Mosca.

The biggest losers were Talanta who went down 6-0 to already promoted side Nzoia Sugar.

Chemelil Sugar FC head coach Francis Baraza has heaped praise on his team after a fine season that saw the club finish fifth in KPL.

He says unlike his fellow competitors, he did not have star players in the team, just a group of dedicated players.