Bite of Cup underdogs leaves top dogs reeling
What you need to know:
- Top guns Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards and Thika United were all swept aside as their less experienced opponents progressed to the quarter-finals.
- National Super League sides Nzoia United and KCB were the giant killers of the weekend, as they beat Gor and Thika United respectively.
- AFC Leopards suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Western Stima.
Lower tier sides shone at the expense of their Premier League counterparts as the third round of the GOtv Shield action took place last weekend at various venues across the country.
Despite coming into the match as favourites, top guns Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards and Thika United were all swept aside as their less experienced opponents progressed to the quarter-finals.
National Super League sides Nzoia United and KCB were the giant killers of the weekend, as they beat Gor Mahia and Thika United respectively by slim but satisfactory 1-0 wins.
Former champions AFC Leopards were not spared either. The Ivan Minnart-coached side suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Western Stima, a team that has mastered the knack of delivering to them knock-out punches.
The weekend results have left a bitter taste in the mouths of the two clubs’ vocal fans, and increased the pressure on coaches Gor’s Marcelo “Ze Maria” Ferreira and Leopards’ Ivan Minnaert.
The two clubs have gathered considerable clout over time, but in-fighting, divisions within the technical bench and a leadership out of touch with the ground seems to be driving the Kenyan giants down the drain.
TRANSFORMED RAW TALENT
But credit goes to cruising Nzoia United. Former Kenya international Bernard Mwalala has successfully constructed a team around young players, and has transformed that raw talent into a force that now threatens to win the National Super League title unbeaten.
Nzoia are top of the NSL table after 21 games, six points ahead of their closest challenger Nakumatt.
Mwalala is bubbling with confidence courtesy of the big victory against Gor. “It was unthinkable that we would beat them, I know. But if you have watched us play this year or studied the levels of determination within the boys during training you wouldn’t be very surprised,” he said.
“The boys were fearless against Gor. It was not a fluke. In fact, I think we could have won by a bigger margin if the referee would have been a little lenient,” he told Daily Nation Sport on Monday.
In the up coming quarters, Mwalala’s Nzoia will face another tough battle in Ulinzi Stars, while defending champions Bandari will explore their chances of retaining the silverware with a match against Kariobangi Sharks.
QUARTER-FINAL FIXTURES
Bandari vs Kariobangi Sharks
Ulinzi Stars vs Nzoia United
Tusker vs Ushuru/Timsales
Western Stima vs KCB
