And the chase widens

By Tony Ngare

Last weekend, matches at Nyayo saw rival fans come together in order to try and beat the opposition in an ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ affair. It was a scene that had not been witnessed before. Gor Mahia fans merging forces with AFC Leopards in support of each other. Even the Prime Minister Raila Odinga — an avowed K’Ogalo fan had to put in his support for AFC as per the MOU, no fishy dealings here. But again it proved insufficient to help Ingwe beat resilient Sher Karuturi.

However, even after the extra ordinary support of Isukuti and Vuvuzelas, Ingwe could not silence Sher Karuturi on the pitch. But Ingwe will have to carry their own cross (No, I don’t mean K’Ogalo fans will stop supporting them) but they have themselves to blame. They blew away a penalty and fought gallantly only to lose concentration in the penultimate minutes of the clash. This is not good news for Ingwe fans.

From now on through hook or crook the team must try and remain in the Kenya Premier League. How the team pulls it off is now down to the technical bench and the juju man (perhaps they should consider hiring a few others to increase the potency of the concoction) as dropping down to the Nationwide League will not go down well with avowed Ingwe fans. From where shall the Messiah come from to save Ingwe?

K’Ogalo did not have such problems when dealing with runaway leaders Sofapaka. The much-anticipated clash saw Sofapaka fall to a wildly cheered K’Ogalo. Besides, facing Gor, Sofapaka probably had to contend with the fact that nearly every other team wanted to see Sofapaka drop points.

Among them undoubtedly, Mathare United. The ‘Slum Boys’ emerged the greatest beneficiaries after Sofapaka and Tusker were denied maximum points to temporary halt the grand march to the title. This has now thrown the championship wide with just seven matches to play. It’s time for the top dogs who have been sniffing blood to go for the kill.