Kakamega Homeboyz pray for safe landing in league title race

Mathare United's Alphonce Ndonye fouls Moses Mudavadi of Kakamega Homeboyz in a past FKF Premier League match at Kasarani Annex. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

Kakamega Homeboyz’ hopes of clinching their maiden Football Kenya Federation Premier League title hang in the balance after rivals and defending champions Tusker closed the gap between them on Sunday.

Tusker edged out Homeboyz 2-0 courtesy of goals by Tanzanian import Ibrahim Joshua and Ugandan international Deogratious Ojok to solidify their push to retain the title they won last season.

The loss, their third of the season means that the gap between them and Tusker has now been reduced to a point with just five rounds remaining in the season. The win on the other side drew Tusker close to the summit as well as extended the unbeaten run to seventeen matches.

Homeboyz now lead the log on 56 points followed by Tusker with 55 points as five matches remain until the end of the regular season.

But the question is, what went wrong for Homeboyz who looked primed to win their maiden league title a month ago?

Homeboyz have now seen what appeared to be an unassailable 10-point lead at the summit whittle down to just one point.

In April 2, the Kakamega-based club were enjoying a 10-point lead with 10-matches left till the end of the campaign.

At the time, Homeboyz had lost only one match in their last twelve fixtures which got everyone believing in their form to propel them to glory.

However, a run of five winless matches has brought down the wall many thought was unbreakable with Homeboyz’s fate now hanging by a thread.

The rain started beating Bernard Mwalala’s charges when they registered identical 1-1 draws with Sofapaka in back-to back matches played on April 10 and April 17 reactively.

Another draw against Kenya Police (2-2) threw the club into tantrums before a fourth consecutive draw against relegation struggling Wazito (1-1) earlier this month condemned them to further pressure mounted by rivals Tusker who had not lost a match in their last 16 matches.

The defeat on Sunday to Tusker was surely coming after the string of poor results and now Homeboyz have to win all their remaining matches against record champions Gor Mahia, KCB, AFC Leopards, Kariobangi Sharks and FC Talanta for the to win the title.

For Tusker, they too have to maintain winning their matches which are slightly easier compared to their competitors Homeboyz with matches against Mathare United, Posta Rangers, Bidco United, Nzoia Sugar and Nairobi City Stars.

At the same time, Bandari’s late resurgence has seen the coastal club join the title race as they closed the gap between them and the two leaders to within six points.

Svene wins in their last 10 matches has pushed the dockers to third on the log with 50 points, five and six points behind tusker and Homeboyz respectively.

Any slip up by the top two teams will see Bandari capitalize if their form is anything to go by.