Roaring Leopards give Thika thorough mauling

AFC Leopards on Saturday dispatched visiting Thika United 3-0 in an ill-tempered match played under a downpour at the Nairobi City Stadium.

Austin Ikenna and Joseph Shikokoti scored a goal each in the first half with Mike Khamati adding the third in the second half to ensure Ingwe kept alive their ambitions of finishing among the top eight teams.

Thika United took long to settle down in the match as Ingwe, urged on by their vocal fans, took every advantage to frustrate the milkmen.

The first major incident of the match occurred in the 18th minute when Leopards won a penalty after Vincent Omumbo handled the ball in the box.

Nigerian national Ikenna stepped forward to drill in the spot kick for the match opener. Shikokoti, starting in place of the injured James Situma, doubled Leopards’ advantage in 35th minute when he rose high to head home Bernard Mangoli’s free kick. The score remained the same at the interval with Thika having little to show.

The rain continued pound in the second half, with the milkmen fighting hard for a goal. Dennis Odhiambo, perhaps fatigued by international duty earlier in the week in Morocco, was pulled out of the match for Wycliffe Opondo after getting into physical confrontations with goalkeeper Patrick Matasi and midfielder Musa Mudde of AFC Leopards.

But it was Leopards who had the final laugh when second half substitute Khamati made an impact moments after his entry. He calmly slotted home from a Jacob Keli cross for a comprehensive win for the 13-time league champions.

The win leaves Ingwe in seventh place with 35 points, a place behind Thika who have 37 points.

UNKOWN MEMBER

In another development, South Africa and Ghana have been asked by the Africa Cup of Nations organisers whether they are prepared to host the 2015 tournament if Morocco withdraw over Ebola fears.

A letter from Confederation of African Football (Caf) secretary general Hicham El Amrani asks an unknown number of national associations whether they would be ready to organise the event. The letter reads in part:

“In case Morocco refuses to maintain the staging of the competition at the agreed dates, Caf would like to know whether your federation would be willing and able to organise the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

“Kindly note that this letter is also sent to some other federations capable of staging the 2015 edition of the event.

“In case CAF receives two or more positive responses, a draw will be made by the executive committee to designate the host of the 2015 edition.”