The Nairobi county bragging rights will be on the line when West conference heavyweights Technical University of Kenya (TUK FC) battle East conference powerhouse Jericho All Stars in the finals of the first season of the SportPesa Super 8 Champions League (Sps8 CL) which will be played Sunday 13 November at Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi.
The 3:00 Pm kick-off is expected to be a hotly-contested encounter and will be preceded by finals of the 10th edition of the SportPesa Super 8 Soccer Tournament (Sps8Tournament) where River Of God (ROG FC) from the East conference takes on the evergreen Real Mathare from the West region as the inaugural season of the Super 8 Leagues comes to a close.
TUK FC VS Jericho All Stars
After the SportPesa Super 8 Premier League (Sps8 PL) title eluded both of them, it will be serious business when these two mighty regional rivals collide as they tussle for the shiny league trophy that comes with a neat half a million Kenya Shillings for the winner courtesy of Extreme Sports Limited and lead sponsors SportPesa.
2015 Sps8 Tournament champions TUK have only one bullet left to perfectly hit the target or may as well go home empty handed this term. The university lads have this year been struck twice by Jericho, first being a 3-2 defeat followed by a 3-1 home humiliation in the Sps8 PL where they marched on to finish 3rd on 60 points just one adrift of second-placed Jericho who are standing between them and the cup glory.
TUK who are tutored by Lukas Aluoch edged Kawangware United 3-1 in the last 16 before overpowering Meltah Kabiria 5-4 in the semi-finals have a daunting task to fell red-hot Jericho.
But coach Aluoch is adamant that his boys are in good condition mentally and physically to shoot down All Stars and deliver the cup to the West conference region again.
He said: “We are trying very hard to balance our training schedule and the school exams which are on-going and most of the players are trying to balance the two but so far so good. There are no major concerns, the players are looking forward for the finals and I believe they are good to go mentally and physically to bring the title to Westside.”
For Jericho, it will be another classic case of having fate in their hands as they seek a cup solace after failing to clinch the Sps8 PL in September despite dominating the league which was swept by Kayole Asubuhi.
Jericho team manager Isaiah Goro has however poured cold water on allegations that he is under pressure from fans to deliver the trophy but conceded that it will be difficult game and challenged his charges to rise to the occasion and win the competition.
“Our fans have been amazing and they have supported us through thick and thin but I have to say we are not under any pressure. We have identified key areas of strength and weakness which we are working on. They (TUK) are a good team and we know they want is as bad as we do and we expect a tough challenge and it will be up to the squad to show what Jericho is capable of. ” said Goro.
For the finals slot, the Makadara based outfit hit Kayole Asubuhi 1-0 during the semis two weeks ago and will be looking to close this year’s campaign on a high when they face TUK.
FULL FIXTURES:
ROG VS REAL MATHARE (12:00Pm)
TUK VS JERICHO ALL STARS (3:00Pm)
Tweet me @bonfaceosano using hashtags #Sps8ChampionsleagueFinals #WakilishaMtaaYako
