FOOTBALL FKF Premier League: The winners and losers from matchweek eight

Gor Mahia and Kenya Police were among the teams that failed to convince while Posta Rangers and KCB showed their class, but who will save Shabana?

Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) witnessed some interesting results at the weekend as Gor Mahia failed to beat Bidco United while leaders Posta Rangers profited by returning to winning ways.

AFC Leopards finally got their first win but Shabana ended the weekend without a coach. Pulse Sports highlights the winners and losers from match week eight in Kenya’s top flight.

Winner: Posta Rangers

Posta Rangers recovered from their 3-1 defeat to FC Talanta in the seventh round to beat Bandari 2-0 and consolidate their first position on the table with 19 points from eight matches.

The Mailmen showed that the loss to Talanta was a blip with a first-half blitz that saw Bandari cast aside after 40 minutes and they were helped greatly by Gor Mahia’s inability to beat Bidco United.

Having come into the weekend with a one-point lead, they ended it with a three-point buffer, which will give them some breathing space and they can hope to continue on Wednesday when they face Kakamega Homeboyz.

Loser: Gor Mahia

Gor Mahia were frustrated to a barren draw by Bidco United which put to an end their two-game winning run. Bidco locked all the outlets for K’Ogalo who could not find a way past them to pick up a precious point and Gor coach Johnathan McKinstry acknowledged how difficult it was, saying it was a ‘fair result.’

While they are still unbeaten, Gor are yet to really convince as they have not been free-flowing so far this season. Four draws from the first eight matches is hardly what their fans expected and the champions must beat troubled Shabana in midweek to silence some of their doubters.

Gor are second on the log with 16 points but they should be looking over their shoulders as KCB and Murang’a Seal are just a point and two behind respectively.

Winner: KCB

The Bankers were among the two teams that scored four at the weekend when they thrashed Nairobi City Stars 4-1 on Sunday.

Bernard Mwalala’s men extended their unbeaten run to seven games with their excellent display and are now just four points behind leaders Posta Rangers and one behind champions Gor Mahia.

Mwalala was brought in to try and win the title after his predecessor Zedekiah Otieno failed to achieve it and the early signs do not look bad.

Whether they can sustain the good run only time will tell but with Gor not convincing, Tusker and Kenya Police struggling in mid-table, they could perhaps take advantage.

Sofapaka are their next opponent in midweek and many expect them to win before their biggest test at the weekend when they face table toppers Posta Rangers.

Loser: Kenya Police

A 1-1 draw with FC Talanta is hardly what Kenya Police coach Zdravko Logarusic would have wished for having come into the match on the back of an unlikely 1-0 loss to Sofapaka.

The Croatian tactician had started life back in Kenya with back-to-back wins but now finds himself in a difficult position as Police are looking down rather than up, sitting in 11th place on the table with 10 points, nine behind Posta.

Police were termed among title favourites following their huge spending in the off-season but their expensively-assembled squad is yet to set the league a light, leaving more questions than answers even if it is still early in the season.

Winner: Tusker

Tusker FC head coach Robert Matano eased some pressure when his side ended a string of three matches without a win, including back-to-back defeats, with a 1-0 victory over his former side Sofapaka.

Bottom-placed Sofapaka were the easy opponents for Tusker to cast aside but the fact that they could only squeeze a 1-0 win means Matano still has plenty of work to do.

The win left them still in midtable in eighth position with 11 points and they will have to beat Ulinzi Stars to move up.

Loser: Shabana

Shabana’s hopes of winning their second match of the season were quickly extinguished on Sunday when they were hammered 4-0 by Ulinzi Stars.

Tore Bobe had no answers to Ulinzi’s firepower and succumbed to their biggest loss of the weekend which saw coach Sammy Okoth quit.

Shabana have struggled to get a foothold in the top flight following their promotion and Okoth felt he had done everything within his powers to succeed.

Defeat to Ulinzi left them 16th on the table with seven points and it gets worse as they face Gor Mahia in midweek and without a coach.

Loser: Nzoia Sugar

Nzoia Sugar welcomed AFC Leopards with hopes of capitalising on their rivals’ poor run to collect a much-needed win but they ended up on the losing end.

It was the fifth straight loss for Nzoia who are now in a relegation battle having been among the title challengers last season.

The fact that they could not muster a win against below-par Ingwe shows the depths they have fallen and are now second from bottom on the table with five points.

Winner: AFC Leopards

Brian Yakhama’s 34th minute penalty was enough to hand AFC Leopards their first win of the season after seven failed attempts.

Ingwe headed to the weekend’s clash with Nzoia as the only team yet to taste victory but put in a resolute defensive display to protect their lead after Cliffton Miheso had won the penalty.

Still it was not a convincing win which means new head coach Tomas Trucha has plenty of work to do but the three points will do their confidence a world of good.

Leopards need to find a way to start scoring from open play as two of their four goals have come from the penalty spot.

The unpredictable Kariobangi Sharks are up next for Ingwe in midweek and given their displays this season, it is hard to know which Leopards will turn up on Wednesday.

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