St Joseph's Boys finally declared Trans Nzoia champions after two weeks of drama

St Joseph’s Boys Kitale on Wednesday night sailed into the Rift Valley Secondary Schools Sports Association regional games after a dramatic final staged at Chebisaas Boys High School in Uasin Gishu.

Jobo (St Joseph’s Boys) defeated Bwake Boys 1-0 in a chaotic final of the controversial Trans Nzoia County football matches.

The match was played in Eldoret (Uasin Gishu County) after days of chaos, confusion and protests in Trans Nzoia.

On Wednesday, the semi-finals and final matches were played in a day full of tension and drama.

It started with the semi-finals, where Jobo humiliated 2023 national champions St Anthony Boys (Solidarity Boys) 5-0 in a high-stakes clash.

Jobo’s goals started raining in the first half, with Instine Simiyu scoring the first two goals before adding one of the three scored in the second half.

Solidarity Boys, who had the advantage of huge fan support, missed numerous chances and got heavily punished by their archrivals.

The double victory for Jobo settled the debate on who between the two rivals is stronger this year.

Bwake and Goseta, whose match had been abandoned in Trans Nzoia, was also played at Chebisaas, far away from home. Bwake won the match 1-0.

Earlier, before the semi-finals, confusion reigned. First, it was not clear whether the matches would be played at Moi Girls Eldoret, Wareng High School or Chebisaas, and there were instructions that fans were not allowed.

When it was announced that the contests were finally happening at Chebisaas after a decision by a jury on Monday evening, huge numbers of football fans, mostly from Trans Nzoia, trooped to the venue and forced their way into the playgrounds.

By 9am, the playgrounds at Chebisaas were packed with fans.

Drama ensued at the finals after the match was stopped for half an hour following complaints by Bwake fans that their side had been denied a penalty in the 72nd minute.

Angry fans stormed the pitch, interrupting the match. Jobo was already one goal ahead when the chaos erupted. Simiyu had scored in the 52nd minute.

After almost half an hour interruption, a decision was reached to continue the match, and Bwake missed a penalty in the 88th minute.

Two weeks ago, Jobo protested their game with Solidarity at Ndura Complex in Trans Nzoia; a decision by a jury held that the match would be repeated.

At the time Jobo protested against a decision by a referee to deny them a penalty, Solidarity was leading 3-2.

The Jobo v Solidarity clash was initially set for a venue in Trans Nzoia but was shifted to Eldoret for fear of interruption by rowdy fans.

On the other hand, Bwake fans stormed the pitch and allegedly assaulted a Goseta player, leading to the stoppage of the semi-final contest.

Speaking after the win, Jobo head coach Austin Musumba said his side had turned all their focus and energy on the match with St Anthony.

“They gave their all to the semi-final match with St Anthony and underrated Bwake, which was a good side. We will be back in Eldoret to defend our regional championship. We will improve on striking because we want our striker to be more clinical. We had many wasted chances,” Musumba said.

He added: “We want to tell fans to respect decisions by referees. They should petition after matches and not storm pitches to disrupt ongoing matches.”

St Anthony secured a consolation win in the volleyball final also played in Chebisaas after beating Andersen 3-1.

With a win in volleyball, St Antony will be making their debut at the regionals set for Eldoret from July 8.

“We will be playing our first game at the regionals on Wednesday, and we have four days to improve our tactics,” St Anthony Boys volleyball coach Jeff Magak said.