George Abege scored on either end as Kariobangi Sharks edged Sofapaka 3-2 in a dramatic SportPesa Shield final at the Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), Kasarani to be crowned champions on Saturday.
George Abege’s 27th minute strike was cancelled out by Stephen Waruru on 43 minutes for a 1-1 stalemate at the break.
Sofapaka, who were missing their first choice shot-stopper Mathias Kigonya who left the club last week, fell behind courtesy of Abege’s opener.
Fleet-footed Harrison Mwendwa was fed by Duke Abuya, raced through on goal and picked out Abege who brilliantly slotted to the bottom corner.
Sofapaka continued to probe for a route back into the match and levelled two minutes before the breather via Stephen Waruru’s firm diving header past Sharks keeper Mathew Gad.
The former Ulinzi Stars man, Waruru, who captained the side in the absence of Kigonya, rose high to power in Kevin Kimani’s curling free kick from the left flank awarded after Erick Juma brought down Yusuf Mohammed.
Kimani thought to have powered Batoto ba Mungu to their fourth domestic cup gong with a 58th minute header but Sydney Lokale, who replaced awful Henry Juma on 59 minutes, cut the party short with an equaliser 10 minutes to the final whistle.
Abege dampened Sofapaka’s hopes with the third goal on 83 minutes after Wycliffe Kasaya, who looked shaky in between the sticks, failed to collect the ball in his guard.
Kimani would have sent the game into extra time and possibly shootouts but blasted wide a penalty five minutes to the final whistle after Geoffrey Shiveka hacked him inside the box.
“Sometimes when building something you look at the progressive nature, we’ve been on the way for the past two years, and it’s something good for the team that we finally got victory today,” Sharks coach William Muluya said after bagging his maiden trophy as a coach.
His counterpart John Baraza blamed his defence line for blowing a 2-1 lead to slip in the last 10 minutes.
“I believe the keeper and the defenders should’ve done better,” offered a disappointed Baraza.
Apart from booking a ticket to next year’s Caf Confederation Cup for the first time in their history, Sharks, who fell 2-0 to AFC Leopards in last year’s final, also take home Sh2 million in prize money as Sofapaka walk away with Sh1 million.
