Gor Mahia flapped their chance of being coronated in the next match as they surprisingly fell 1-0 to Nzoia Sugar at Mumias Sports Complex.
Gor were four points away from laying hands to the crown but Hansel Ochieng’s strike denied them the three points.
At Kenyatta Stadium, KCB coach Frank Ouna was elated after watching the bankers hold on to slim lead to beat AFC Leopards 1-0.
Ouna credited the new defensive discipline to the talk he had with the boys and was bullish of a respectable finish. Kennedy Owino netted the sole goal of the match in the first half.
“Conceding in the last minute has really been a challenge for us and I am happy the team has rectified that. It’s something we worked on mentally with the boys and the biggest victory today was to keep a clean sheet.
On the negative side, we created few chances but we have an opportunity to rectify before we play Kariobangi Sharks this weekend. The win increases our chances of a respectable finish. Our objective from the start was to remain in the league and the win puts in a more safer rank.”
His Leopards counterpart Andre Casa Mbungo defended his team selection despite fielding his second string squad in a move deemed as early preparation for this weekend’s Mashemeji derby.
David ‘Cheche’ Ochieng, Paul Were, Soter Kayumba, Whyvonne Isuza and Abdalla Salim were unused in the match while regulars Brian Marita and Vincent Oburu started from the bench.
“We played poorly in the first half but improved in the second. We rested our senior players as they had played ten matches in the last two weeks. It has nothing to do with the derby. We were not thinking about the derby as it is a different game.”
In Other matches, Zoo Kericho made yet another statement in their quest to survive relegation as they recovered from a goal down to beat Western Stima 2-1 at the Kericho Green Stadium. Under-fire Kariobangi Sharks succumbed 2-0 to Sony Sugar at the Awendo Green Stadium with Enoch Agwanda and Solomon Omondi on target for the millers.
Today, Bandari will be looking to reduce the gap between them and Gor Mahia to eight as well as rise to second when they host Tusker at the Mbaraki Stadium.
