Shabana claw AFC Leopards to win Mashujaa Day Cup
Shabana FC head coach Vincent Nyaberi (left)congratulates his captain Wycliffe Nyangechi after their Mashujaa Day Cup match against AFC Leopards at Gusii Stadium on October 20, 2020.
What you need to know:
- The match was attended by hundreds of home fans who cheered the Kisii side throughout the 90 minutes among them the County’s Executive for Sports, Duke Mainga. Senate speaker Ken Lusaka was the guest of honour.
- Ingwe chairman Dan Shikanda challenged Shabana to strive and seal promotion to the top flight, saying it’s huge following would bring competition in the top tier.
National Super League (NSL) side Shabana FC beat AFC Leopards 1-0 on Tuesday to win the Mashujaa Day Cup at the Gusii Stadium in Kisii.
Shabana’s striker Fred Nyakundi scored the solitary goal in the 34th minute, heading home a delicous cross from Peter Ogechi.
With the result, Shabana head coach Vincent Nyaberi believes the club is able to seal promotion to the top league tier in the coming season following.
He attributed the result to home fans who usually attend the matches in large numbers.
“I decided to use only local players who iplayed perfectly well. Alongside the local players from the region, I used three new players," noted Nyaberi.
While conceding defeat, his Leopards counterpart, Anthony Kimani, praised Shabana for displaying quality football. Kimani reiterated that they will rectify a few mistakes at their high altitude pre-season training camp in Iten.
“The match was tough but it is a wake-up call on our side. I observed a few mistakes that we are planning to rectify. This is football, anything can happen," he said.
Fans follow the Mashujaa Day Cup match between Shabana and AFC Leopards at the Gusii Stadium on October 20, 2020.
The last time the two sides met was in 2018 and Leopards survived a scare to progress to the round of 16 of the SportPesa Shield after a 2-1 win at the Moi Stadium in Kisumu.
The match was attended by hundreds of home fans who cheered the Kisii side throughout the 90 minutes among them the County’s Executive for Sports, Duke Mainga. Senate speaker Ken Lusaka was the guest of honour.
Ingwe chairman Dan Shikanda challenged Shabana to strive and seal promotion to the top flight, saying it’s huge following would bring competition in the top tier.
The former KPL giants finished 10th in the last campaign and will be playing second tier games for the third season since they were promoted from Division One towards the end of 2018.
