Leopards roar: AFC edge Bandari to sail into KPL Top-8 semi-final

BY BEN AHENDA AND GILBERT WANDERA

AFC Leopards players after beating Bandari to sail into the semi-finals of KPL Top-8 tournament at Afraha Stadium, Nakuru, yesterday. [PHOTO:BONIFACE THUKU/STANDARD]

AFC Leopards are through to the semi-finals of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Top-8 tournament after stopping Bandari 1-0 at Afraha Stadium on Saturday.

Leopards will have to thank Bandari defender Islam Omar for scoring into his own net in injury time and give coach James Nandwa the precious win.

 The winners should have finished off matters earlier on but were great let down by poor finishing. The introduction of veteran midfielder Charles Okwemba however made all the difference and it was from his free kick which resulted in the only goal of the match.

Before then Bandari had held on well and were determined hold on until the end hoping that the match can be decided in post-match penalties where any team can win it.

Leopards were wasteful and put away so many chances that would have allowed them to finish off matters early.

It was however the  determined  visitors who created the first opportunity at goal when Abdulatif Omar’s well curved free kick was punched into play by Martin Musalia in the  Leopards goal.

 From the counter-attack, Leopards could easily have got the opener. Edwin Wafula picked a free ball and from it found Austine Ikenna but the Nigerian could not slot home despite the fact that Wilson Obungu was well beaten in the Bandari goal.

David Naftali was the first man to be cautioned following rough play on Jacob Keli but from the resultant free kick, Wilson Obungu easily put out the danger.

Settled in the game

As Leopards settled in the game, they forced their opponents to make mistakes and in the 12th minute they won another free kick awarded after Sharif Mohammed had brought down Austine Ikenna.

Making his first start for Leopards, Titus Wamalwa ended the first half with a caution after he fouled Ali Bai. With ten minutes before the end, Jacob Keli failed to put Leopards ahead but he hesitated too much to allow the Bandari backline to re-organise and clear the danger. Keli was guilty of another wasted chance just six minutes later when he failed to tap home Ikenna’s effort inside the box.

As the first half wore down, Leopards’ fans were disappointed when a Paul Were goal was disallowed for off-side and the scores stayed barren as both teams went to rest.

The second half was as eventful as the first half of the match and once again Leopards will be disappointed that they did not get anything in normal time.

Paul Were was the greatest culprit in missing this chances. In the 50th minute he delayed to release the ball after Bernard Mangoli had broken free.

Bandari also had their own chance to go up ten minutes later but Ali Bai failed to beat Martin Musalia in goal.

Leopards coach James Nandwa rued the number of missed chances but acknowledged having a blunt striking force, which must be worked on before their next matches. “Our players have displayed some good football but our striking force has let us down,” he said.

On his part Bandari tactician Twahir Muhidin admitted that his players were not at their best.