Duke Abuya scored a brace as Kenya’s Kariobangi Sharks upset Tanzania giants Yanga 3-2 in an ill-tempered SportPesa Cup quarter-final at the National Stadium on Tuesday.
George Abege was also on target for the Kenyan side, who are making their second appearance in the competition which is now in its third edition.
There was late drama as both set of players engaged in a scuffle after Sharks keeper John Oyemba was attacked by Yanga players for failing to give them the ball following their second goal from substitute Hamisi Tambwe deep in injury time.
Sharks will now face fellow Kenyan Premier League side Bandari in the semi-finals. Bandari saw off home side Singida United 1-0 in the first quarter-final earlier at the same venue.
It was Yanga who enjoyed a brief advantage at the start, dominating possession via fast accurate passes.
But Abuya went on to shock the supporting cast by scoring the opener against the run of play, a screamer from the edge of the box that arrowed into the top fright corner.
The scorer was played through on goal by Abege after a move that covered half the length of the well kempt pitch.
The lanky Abege then turned from provider to scorer by converting the second goal 27 minutes later.
The Ugandan forward scored via a left footed drive which whistled past Yanga keeper Klaus Kindoki at full stretch and came off the inside of the left upright on its way in.
Buoyed by vocal support from a group of noisy supporters attached to Yanga’s arch rivals Simba, the Kenyan side could even afford the luxury of hitting the post twice off a Vincent Wasambo header and Harrison Mwendwa’s strike in the dying moments of the first stanza.
Kindoki also made two superb saves in quick succession as the visitors continued to pile pressure on the men in green.
On the other end, Oyemba had a field day, making routine saves from veteran Tanzania forward Mrisho Ngassa and Ibrahim Ajib.
It could have been worse for the hosts, as Abege had the ball in the back of the net after 50 minutes but it eventually didn’t count as he was adjudged to have fouled Kindoki in the process.
Then Yanga instigated a late surge, resulting in Tambwe scoring his team’s first goal capitalising on a school boy mistake from Geoffrey Shiveka with four minutes of regulation time remaining.
He hurried down Shiveka who panicked and gifted him the ball. With only Oyemba to beat, Tambwe rounded the keeper before showing his experience to chip the ball into the empty net.
Abuya however scored what turned out to be the winner when he beat the entire Yanga defence and kept his calm to side-foot Kindoki before placing the ball to his right.
Tambwe added a consolation but it all ended in disappointment for the home team.
