•The Coastal lads rallied twice from behind to register their 10th win of the season in the hotly contested Round of 20 Kenyan Premier League encounter.
•Newly appointed Murang’a Seal head gaffer Abdalla Juma said complacency in the dying minutes of the game cost them crucial points.
Image: HANDOUT
Bandari head coach John Baraza reckons they are firmly in the race for a maiden top-flight title after surmounting a vicious challenge to defeat Muranga Seal 3-2 at St. Sebastian Park on Sunday.
The Coastal lads rallied twice from behind to register their 10th win of the season in the hotly contested Round of 20 Kenyan Premier League encounter.
The crucial win propelled Bandari to the third spot on the log with 34 points— nine behind leaders Gor Mahia who suffered a shock 3-1 loss at the hands of Police FC at the Police Sacco Stadium on Saturday.
“The win has lifted our spirits after the heartbreak we suffered last week when we lost 2-1 to Bungoma Stars in the FKF Cup. Our confidence levels are ballooning with every positive outcome and I believe we are now firmly in contention for the Kenyan Premier League title,” Baraza remarked.
“It was a tough match and collecting maximum points away from home is something worth celebrating. There is a great improvement in our performance and I’m satisfied with the quality of play we have displayed here this afternoon,” he added.
Newly appointed Murang’a Seal head gaffer Abdalla Juma said complacency in the dying minutes of the game cost them crucial points.
“We had some serious lapses in concentration which denied us a chance to bag maximum points at home. It’s so unfortunate that we lost after going ahead twice in the match,” Juma stated.
“All in all, losing is part of football and we live to fight another day. We are going back to the drawing board to plug in the glaring loopholes that exposed us to our opponents,” he added.
Red-hot striker Titus Kapchanga broke the deadlock in the 11th minute to hand the hosts a slim advantage early in the proceedings. However, Umar Kasumba capitalized on a defensive howler to draw Bandari level in the 11th minute. Mwaura then fired Seal back into the lead in the 67th minute but Francis Kahiro restored parity three minutes later.
With the sides about to share spoils and Seal already counting a point from the encounter, second-half substitute Hamisi Mwaphalla’s inclusion in the match proved instrumental for Bandari as he stabbed in a last-gasp winner in the sixth minute of added time.
Elsewhere at the Ulinzi Sports Complex, Edward Odhiambo’s fourth-minute effort was enough to steer Ulinzi Stars past FC Talanta at Ulinzi Complex on Sunday.
Odhiambo latched onto Issa Lumumba’s cross on the edge of the box to unleash a rasping close-range shot that left Talanta custodian sprawling helplessly on the ground.
AFC Leopards maintained an impressive run to bag their sixth win of the season with an emphatic 2-0 win over Kariobangi Sharks at Nyayo Stadium.
Two quick-fire goals by Victor Omune and Boniface Munyendo in the 50th and 51st minute were all the felines needed to maul their opponents, consequently retaining the 10th position on the KPL log.