Aswani goes top as league Golden Boot race hots up
What you need to know:
- Only once in the modern era of the Kenyan Premier League has a top scorer surpassed the 20-goal mark, and this year all indications are that that statistic will not be breached.
- With only five rounds of games remaining before the curtains fall on the 2017 season, veteran Nakumatt striker Kepha Aswani leads the Golden Boot race with 12 goals courtesy of his brace against Kakamega Homeboyz last weekend that thrust him clear atop the goal scorers’ charts.
- Aswani has finished third in the scorers’ list twice in the last five years and feels this could be his year.
Only once in the modern era of the Kenyan Premier League has a top scorer surpassed the 20-goal mark, and this year all indications are that that statistic will not be breached.
With only five rounds of games remaining before the curtains fall on the 2017 season, veteran Nakumatt striker Kepha Aswani leads the Golden Boot race with 12 goals courtesy of his brace against Kakamega Homeboyz last weekend that thrust him clear atop the goal scorers’ charts.
Aswani has finished third in the scorers’ list twice in the last five years and feels this could be his year.
But being the lead striker and enjoying plenty of play time at Nakumatt, he has a good opportunity to one up this year and win the coveted shoe.
The 29-year old emerged third with 11 goals while at AFC Leopards, which was a down grade from 2012 when he amassed 12 goals for Thika United to finish joint third behind eventual winner John Baraza and runner up Dan Sserunkuma.
The former Bandari man is eager to make up for lost time, as his team had to sit out two rounds of games last month due to a High Court ruling that declared their participation in the top light null and void.
The league debutants have since been reinstated following a successful appeal, and Aswani admits that the race for the coveted shoe is one difficult contest.
“I am happy and I thank God for enabling me to be in this position once again. It is always the joy of every striker to win the golden boot, because it proves that you are doing your job so I can’t say that I am not excited about the prospects.
“Winning it is however not easy. There are many other talented players who are also eyeing the title so one must always be at their best. For me it is a motivation to play even better every time I get onto the pitch, but my allegiance is first to the club,” he said.
Just one goal behind Aswani is on-form Ugandan Umaru Kasumba, who adapted to life in Kenya immediately he landed at Sofapaka in June, and who in the last four months, has scored 11 of Batoto ba Mungu’s 44 goals.
Kasumba has enjoyed a terrific season in the Kenyan league, and his consistency in front of goal has seen him linked with a crux of new clubs in the coming December-January transfer window.
Joint second with Kasumba is Ulinzi Stars forward Stephen Waruru, who is enduring dip in form and has failed to shake the net, since the league broke for mid-season in June.
The former Harambee Stars striker has been relegated to the bench due to his dip in form by coach Benjamin Nyangweso, and is no longer viewed as a serious contender in this year’s title.
Hot on the heels of the leading pack is on-form Kariobangi Sharks striker Masoud Juma, who also managed a brace at the weekend as his team drew 2-2 with Chemelil Sugar at Kasarani, and who has showed every intention of storming the top.
The onus is now on Gor Mahia duo of Jacques Tuyisenge and Meddie Kagere, Mathare United ace Chrispinus Oduor and Sofapaka’s Ezekiel Okare to bang the goals as they chase down Aswani at the top.
