10-man AFC Leopards reach Betway Cup quarters

Ten-man AFC Leopards are through to the quarterfinals of Betway Cup when they clawed a stubborn Ushuru 4-2 on post-match penalties at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru on Sunday.

Both sides were deadlocked at 0-0 at the end of regulation time, forcing the tie to be determined by spot kicks.

Ingwe converted all their kicks through Boniface Mukhekhe, Said Tsuma, Washington Munene and Chris Oruchum.

The tax men scored their two goals through Evans Makari and Oscar Mbugua, while Edwin Mwaura's shot was blocked by Leopards goalkeeper Ezekiel Owade and Jackton Onjala's cracker hit the cross bar.
Following their victory, Ingwe will play the winner of the match between Kisumu All Stars and Vihiga United.

Ushuru coach James Otieno conceded defeat and described the outcome as a big learning lesson in their remaining National Super League matches.

“Stretching an experienced side like Ingwe is no small feat and to me we have picked several lessons which I plan to utilise in the NSL,” said Otieno.

Ingwe coach Anthony Kimani was happy with the results and described the match as a 'tough and dangerous tie'

“Playing unpredictable side like Ushuru requires a lot of patience and resilience and this has seen us win the match at the wire and I commend the boys for executing the job,” said Kimani.

Against the taxmen, Leopards should blame themselves for stretching the match to penalty shoot out as they had the lion share of the proceedings with roving striker Austin Otieno missing several scoring chances.

Midway through the first half, Otieno penetrated the sloppy Ushuru defence and unleashed a fierce shot which was parried for a fruitless corner by goalkeeper Boniface Barasa, who had a busy afternoon in a match played in an empty stadium following the coronavirus fears.

On resumption Otieno missed yet another golden opportunity in the 52nd minute when his pile drive outside the box was fingered out by the hawk-eyed Barasa for a fruitless corner.

Ushuru's best moment came in the 75th minute when Oscar Mbugua run deep into Leopards' rear-guard and controlled the ball before firing a cracker, which was cleverly blocked by Owade.

Otieno made there changes when he brought in Alex Sunga, Brian Otieno and John Mabia and recalled Evans Makani, John Ndirangu and Brian Yahama.

On the opposite side, coach Kimani injected new blood through Asad Musa, Washington Munene and Dan Sunguti and rested Francis Manoa, Jaffari Owiti and Austin Otieno.

Leopards suffered a setback when Isaac Kipyego was given his marching orders by referee Philip Brook for a second bookable offence.