•Despite the exit, Compel head coach George Mutimba said his charges deserved a pat on the back for coming this far
•In an earlier quarterfinal clash at the same venue, Kariobangi Sharks booked a semifinal date against KCB after fending off a vicious challenge to pip SS Assad 1-0.
Image: @AFCLeopards
AFC Leopards' head coach Thomas Trucha has extolled his charges for cruising past Compel FC in the FKF Cup quarter-finals at Dandora Stadium on Sunday.
The Kenyan Premier League behemoths fought valiantly to fend off a vicious challenge from their stalwart Division One rivals, rallying back from a goal down to register an emphatic 3-1 win.
The win set them up for a scintillating semi-final clash with high-flying Kenya Police at the same venue next weekend.
"We didn't have an excuse not to win the game. We made our life a little bit difficult after conceding an early goal," Trucha stated.
"Police are a different side and so we will approach them differently. We expect a tough match because they look more menacing than Gor Mahia," he added.
Despite the exit, Compel head coach George Mutimba said his charges deserved a pat on the back for coming this far.
"We were disadvantaged by the surface. Being an up-country team, we are not used to playing on turf," Mutimba remarked.
"The performance augurs well for the future of the club and our fans should expect some more pleasant surprises," he added.
Ingwe suffered an early scare in the first minute of the nail-biter when Philip Simiyu fired Compel into the lead with a rasping effort that sent a rackety silence across the jam-packed Dandora stadium stands.
The stunner momentarily muffled the animated Isukuti beats that heated the frigid Nairobi aura which stood at 21°C for the better part of Sunday.
The composed forward calmly collected a pass from his teammate deep in the midfield and made brilliant use of the space and time ahead of him to strategise for the killer shot.
The ball hurtled into the top left corner of the net, wheezing past a hapless Leopards' custodian Humphrey Katasi who unsuccessfully flung himself midair in a frantic bid to thwart Juma's rasping effort.
Visibly rattled and stunned by the turn of events, Leopards collected their pieces and made incessant inroads into their opponent's territory. Their moment eventually came when a 28th-minute corner paid off handsomely.
Harambee Stars prodigy Kaycie Odhiambo rose above his markers and nodded in Clifton Miheso's delivery into the back of the net, effectively sending the Dandora Stadium stands into a frenzy.
A few minutes to the breather, Rwandan import Arthur Gitego blasted the back of the net on the second bite of the cherry to double the advantage, after Randy Bakari's initial attempt to finish off Clifton Miheso's corner kick rebounded from the watertight Compel defence.
Gitego proved to be the toast for Ingwe in the 63rd minute when he unleashed yet another thunderbolt strike from the edge of the box to net the third goal that hammered the final nail into Compel's casket.
In an earlier quarterfinal clash at the same venue, Kariobangi Sharks booked a semifinal date against KCB after fending off a vicious challenge to pip SS Assad 1-0.
John Makwata was the toast for the side, latching onto Stephen Bwire's enticing delivery into the six-yard area to stab the ball into the gaping net.