Kenya Police FC head coach Ettiene Ndayiragije insists tightening up at the back and showing more ruthlessness in front of goal will be vital if his side is to see off Ethiopia’s Coffee SC today at 6 pm and book their place in the knockout stages of the CECAFA Kagame Cup.
The law enforcers currently sit third in Group A with three points, trailing joint leaders Coffee and Tanzania’s Singida Black Stars, who are level on four. Djibouti’s Garde-Cotes prop up the table without a point to their name. Police began their campaign in style, sweeping aside Garde-Cotes 4-0 on September 2.
Eric Zakayo, David Simiyu, Baraka Badi and Edward Omondi all got on the scoresheet. However, Ndayiragije’s men were brought back down to earth in their second outing, slipping to a narrow 2-1 defeat to Singida last Friday. Evis Rupia and Ande Habib Cirille put the Tanzanian outfit two goals up before Charles Ouma pulled one back late on for the Kenyans.
With only the top two guaranteed a place in the next round, Ndayiragije knows his charges must sharpen both ends of the pitch. "If we can create more chances and convert them, then we have the chance to reach far."
"We also need to tighten up our defence to have a solid team," Ndayiragije said. The Burundian international acknowledged that the tournament had revealed areas of weakness in his side. "This championship has shown us there are still some areas we need to fix as a team."
Reflecting on the setback against Singida, Ndayiragije hailed their opponents’ experience and game management. "Sigida is an experienced team; they managed and controlled the game well."
"When the tempo is high, they know how to control it and they also push us hard," he said. He further noted that Singida were able to read their style of play and adjust accordingly. "We were attacking using the wings, but they read our play and were able to counter it."
Despite the pressure, the Police are treating the Kagame Cup as a useful pre-season workout ahead of a historic 2025/26 campaign. "We are taking these matches as a pre-season campaign. Some of our players were out in international duty, and they only linked up with us during this tournament."
"So it has really been important to help us just gauge where the boys are and build more chemistry," he stated. The law enforcers will have their hands full in the coming season, not only defending their maiden Kenyan Premier League (KPL) title but also embarking on their first-ever CAF Champions League adventure. Police rewrote history in the 2024/25 campaign by amassing 65 points to dethrone Gor Mahia, who finished runners-up on 59.
That triumph sealed their ticket to continental football. They open their Champions League qualifier clashes against Somalia’s Mogadishu CC in back-to-back qualifiers on September 19 and 26.
In the KPL, the law enforcers open their campaign against Bidco on September 28 before clashing with Ulinzi (September 30), APS Bomet (October 4), Sofapaka (October 20) and Bandari (October 26) in their first five league clashes.
