Vintage Francis Thairu’s 19th season goal earned Kawangware United maximum points against title chasing Kayole Asubuhi.
The result was sweet music to leaders Jericho All Stars who were inactive but benefitted from three points and two goals from Kayole Youth who have since left the competition and the Makadara side is now three points clear at the apex of the log standings with 49 points.
In another match champions TUK set their title defending campaign on the correct path after seeing off giant slayers Shauri Moyo Blue Stars 1-0 yesterday to claim the third spot with 45 points.
Below is a breakdown of week 24.
KAWANGWARE UNITED 2-1 KAYOLE ASUBUHI
Kayole Asubuhi wasted a chance to close in on the leaders Jericho All Stars after being humbled 1-2 by Kawangware United in a fiercely contested encounter at BP grounds in Kawangware.
Leading top scorer Francis Thairu returned to his scoring self by netting the winning goal for Kawangware minutes after the second half commenced. This erased any dreams for Asubuhi to bridge the three point gap at the top of the table.
Victor John had set Kawangware off to a bright start with an early opener before an own goal by Daniel Muthiga in the 24th minute gave Kayole their only goal of the match.
Asubuhi are second with 45 points and Kawangware United trickled a spot lower to 11th position with 30 points.
MELTA KABIRIA 2-2 AJAX FC
It was a great day for Sammy Agesa who claimed a brace to help keep intact Melta Kabiria’s seven match unbeaten record in a two-all draw with West conference rivals Ajax FC. This was during an entertaining match staged at Bp grounds in Kawangware.
After a barren first half, Ruben Mwangi powered Ajax in front in the 66th minute and soon after Melta piled incessant pressure that bore tangible results when Ajax conceded a penalty that Agesa converted in the easiest of ways possible.
Bedan Kigali then restored Ajax’s lead ten minutes later only for Agesa to level the tie with six minutes remaining on the clock for a 2-2 end. With the one invaluable point, Melta drift to 8th spot with37 points as Ajax have a point more at seventh.
MASA 2-0 BABA DOGO UNITED
In another match, Makongeni’s MASA labored to break Baba Dogo United 2-0 at home at the Makongeni grounds.
It took 62 minutes for MASA to finally score their first goal through a hard-fought effort by Tony Okello who sent the home team in front after a scoreless first stanza. Baba Dogo, who were staring at the relegation axe in the East conference standings, dropped points after Robert Adede scored the winner for MASA at the stroke of the final whistle to hand the Hassan Andale’s charges all the three points of the game that moves them to 6th with 38 points.
The loss for Baba Dogo United deepens their woes at the bottom three in the league table standings where they are now struggling at 14th with 18 points.
SHAMAKO BABES 1-1 DIGUNA FC (1PM)
At Kabete grounds, the West conference underdogs breathed some life into their dismal campaign by forcing Diguna FC to cough a point in a match that ended in a 1-1 deadlock.
A 22nd minute opener by Staus Okallo had given Diguna a dream start as the Rongai based outfit will regret not taking their chances in the first half against the relegation bound side who trailed 0-1 at the breather.
Erastus Ngaruiya turned the hero for the basement side in the 66th minute with a deserved equalizer forcing a point out of Diguna who were pre-match favorites. But the point did not do much for Shamako as they are still languishing at the tail end of the 16-team log with 9 points while Diguna sits 9th with 33 points.
KABETE UNITED 0-3 METRO SPORTS
A treble from Peter Ambetsa handed Metro Sports a comfortable 3-0 win over Kabete United at Kabete grounds.
The dependable striker opened the score sheet six minutes after kick-off as Kabete were completely outdone by the East siders who controlled the first half that ended 1-0 in favor of the Sportsmen.
The home team failed to contain Ambetsa at the hour mark where he yet again swept home the second goal for his side as Kabete struggled to get their act together in the second period. However, their efforts hit the wall and Ambetsa completed the route late in the match for the deserved win.
The emphatic win for Metro sees them retain 5th place with 41 points as Kabete struggles at 10th with 31 points.
KIAMAIKO CITY 2-3 KIAMBIU YOUTH
Kiambiu Youth took the spoils after a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Kiamaiko City at Huruma grounds.
Erick Otieno grabbed the opener for the Citizens in the 23rd minute before Kiambiu’s top scorer James Mandela pulled the goal back seven minutes later with his team mate Caleb Omondi making it 2-1.
Moments later, Kiamaiko were brought back into contention courtesy of a superb effort by Ntagi Ntagi just before the first half break.
Restarting at 3-2, in favor of Kiambiu, Kiamaiko shot stopper George Muriuki pulled a wonderful save to deny Mandela’s penalty kick that was awarded after a dangerous foul in the forbidden area.
As a result of the win, Kiambiu now have 30 points at 12th on the grid while Kiamaiko will have to fight harder to extricate themselves from the relegation zone in the West conference standings as they lie 13th with 27 points.
SHAURI MOYO BLUE STARS 0-1 TUK
A first half strike by Raphael Asudi of TUK was enough to dim Shauri Moyo Blue Stars 0-1 in the 24th round of the SportPesa Super 8 Premier League match played on Saturday 6 August at Camp Toyoyo grounds in Jericho estate.
The 30th minute near-post strike by Asudi handed the university students all the three points that saw them narrow the gap between them and league leaders where they now claim third spot at the expense of Blue Stars with 45 points, a point shy of leaders Jericho All Stars who are tied on points with second-placed Kayole Asubuhi.
The bitter loss for Blue Stars means they trickle to fourth with 42 points and ahead of tomorrow’s matches.
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