Sofapaka FC goalkeeper Mathias Kigonya is hoping he will be considered for the CECAFA Senior Challenge when the Uganda squad is named for the tournament in Nairobi in November – December.

Kigonya has been a key man for the Batoto Ba Mungu team and after a fine season, which saw Sam Ssimbwa’s side vie for the league title against eventual winners Gor Mahia, he feels a call to Cranes for the tourney will be deserved reward.

The goalkeeper says his dream is to make the strides and ply his trade in Europe in the near future.To get there, he acknowledges that participating in the CECAFA tournament will be crucial.

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“I would really be happy to be part of Uganda Cranes team (that will participate in CECAFA). Indeed hard work never stops paying and I hope one day to play in Europe. I’m focused and very positive mentally,” Kigonya is quoted by Ugandan portal Kawowo Sports.

The keeper was among the chosen players by Harambee Stars head coach Stanley Okumbi for the trip to Spain a few months ago, making two appearance for the KPL All Strs team.

Joined

He joined Sofapaka in 2016 at a time when the 2009 champions were struggling to stay afloat with the current coach Sam Simbwa lauding the keeper as one of their best players in the 2016 season.

“Sofapaka success is attributed to him. When he was injured we were down,” Ssimbwa said.

Kigonya last featured for Uganda Cranes in the 2016 CHAN finals held in Rwanda.

Sofapaka are still training their sights on a second place finish in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) despite seemingly having their work cut out in a midweek clash against Mathare United at the Narok sub county stadium on Wednesday.

Speaking soon after Sofapaka’s morning workouts at the Eastleigh High School ground yesterday, the team’s Technical Director Martin Ndagano said a runner-up slot is possible only what is required is hard work and dedication by the players.

“Of late, the playing unit has shown great character and the technical bench has played its part by working around the clock to ensure that the team winds up in the upper echelons of the league. To achieve our goals, all the players need to keep on working hard,” said Ndagano.

He added:”We will be playing at home against Mathare Unuted and obviously,  this will give us an advantage and more so the invaluable inspiration to grind up the desired result.

As for Mathare United who lost 2-1 to Sofapaka in the first leg encounter on April 2, revenge will be a motivating factor for them and especially this time when they are vouching to evade relegation.

However, a cross-section of Sofapaka players have boldly declared that they will fight to the last man standing in the team’s quest to secure maximum points at the expense of Francis Kimanzi-coached Mathare.

Eccentric defensive midfielder Maurice Odipo said although they expect a difficult match, chances of bagging all the three points are all there.

“We are fully focused and can barely afford to put our feet off the gas pedal. We may not have won the league title but a second place finish is equally good and that is what we are going for,” said Odipo, one of the highly disciplined and longest-serving players in the Batoto ba Mungu squad.

Free-scoring Ugandan forward Umaru Kasumba was equally upbeat ahead of the Mathare match, saying he can’t wait to add on his goal tally in pursuit of the Golden Boot Award.

“I have been paying special attention of scoring more goals not only to help Sofapaka secure the runners-up slot, but also to enable me bag the ultimate top marksman award,” said Kasumba.

Kasumba has for two times in a trot been declared Sofapaka’s best player and top scorer and for this reason, Mathare United have every reason to be afraid of him when the two teams come face to face in Narok.

Round 31 fixture of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) action will not take place this weekend as earlier scheduled and have been postponed due to the prevailing political situation in the country.

Apparently some teams were unable to travel for the matches. The 9 matches will now be played on Tuesday, 14 November 2017. Round 32 matches, which are to be played on Wednesday, 01 November 2017, will go on as planned. The letter said.

“Due to the prevailing political situation in the country which has made it difficult for some teams to travel to various parts of the country to honour matches, Kenyan Premier League has been left with no other choice but to postpone Round 31 matches which were to be played on Saturday 28 October and Sunday 29,” the statement by KPL read in part.

“KPL understands the strain this will have on clubs as the season is set to conclude on Saturday November 18, therefore a request will be made to the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to surrender the Fifa weekend of 11/12 November for the scheduling of league matches.”

“However, this is not guaranteed as FKF had earlier this year stated that they intend to make use of all Fifa dates.”

Attached please find a copy of that press release.

 

Sofapaka Manager Willis Waliaula has been suspended and not sacked contrary to reports doing rounds, over involvement in alleged match fixing during the match against Western Stima last weekend.

According to independent reports in the team, Waliaula’s suspension stems from breaching clauses 1(i) and 6 in the contractual agreement which includes defaming the club and talking to the media and third parties in matters which are deemed injurious to the team.

The suspension letter signed by the club’s Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Kayoyi reads:

“Please bear in mind that we are in receipt and are aware of your statement that you sent to the media as at yesterday at 13.05pm which stated as follows; “As long as they bring good offer on the table there is no problem,”

The correspondence was purportedly relayed to Western Stima by Waliaula ostensibly as an accomplice in the alleged match fixing of the KPL match which Sofapaka lost 3 – 1.

The three clauses enshrined in the contract and which the embattled official is said to have breached read thus:

1. a)   He should not defame the name of Sofapaka FC; neither shall he talk to the media and third parties whatsoever in any manner that may affect the image of the club without consent from the relevant authorities.
2. b)   If the Team Manager is found guilty of serious, persistent misconduct, he will be liable for suspension or dismissed forthwith.

Meanwhile, Waliula has vehemently refuted claims he helped fix the match and accused persons on social media of misrepresenting facts.

His denial comes after a post that he says was taken in the wrong context went viral on social media.

“I was reacting to a post on facebook post made by a friend of mine. He had said that with GOtv ending their sponsorship for Shield Competition, Betway had showed interest in sponsoring the competition from next season and all I said was that they are welcome if they have a better offer,” said Waliaula.

He added, ”Later someone took a screenshot of my comment without including the original message and used it to imply that I was talking about our Saturday’s match,” said Waliaula.

Line up to face Western Stima FC

1. Mathias Kigonya (1)
2. Rodgers Aloro (17)
3. Maurice Odipo
4. Kennedy Oduor
5. Jonathan Mugabi
6. Mohammed Kilume
7. Francis Ochola
8. Ali Feni
9. Umaru Kasumba
10. Micheal Oduor
11. Ezekiel Okare

RESERVES

1. George Opiyo
2. Ricky Onimbo
3. Samuel Mutiria
4. Bernard Mang’oli
5. Brian Magonya
6. Meshack Karani
7. Morven Otinya

Sofapaka can now rest easy ahead of their Kenyan Premier League (KPL) match against Western Stima in Narok on Sunday after posting a morale-boosting 5-0 victory over Kangemi Allstars in a Mushujaa Day derby at Camp Toyoyo ground in Jericho on Friday.

The gulf in standards between Sofapaka and Kangemi was discernible in the Mashujaa Derby as Batoto Ba Mungu tormented the provincial league side and only came short of winning the match by a bigger margin

Morven Otinya hit a brace while Hansel Ochieng, Timona Wanyonyi and Meshack Karani contributed the other goals as Sofapaka breezed easy in a one sided match even with two penalties wasted.

The match began in earnest with Sofapaka dictating the pace at midfield. Timothy Luda ran through the Kangemi rearguard in the second minute to tee up Otinya who excellently slot the ball inside the box for the opener. As the game wore on, Kangemi attempted to come into the game as Brian Ndeta and Kevin Oduor staved of a flurry of Sofapaka attacks.

Pressure mounted for the inexperienced Kangemi as Sofapaka bossed the midfield with Meshack Karani and Brian Magonya especially a handful to their opponents.

In the 27^th minute, a defensive howler by left back Isaya Ochuka gave Hansel Ochieng an opportunity to poke in a goal for Sofapaka past the unsighted Kangemi goalkeeper Julius Okendo.

Sam Ssimbwa’s men started taking control of proceedings as the slum boys began fading off. In the 42^nd minute, a loose ball off Simon Onyango fell at the feet of Otinya whose rasping 25 yard drive was too hot to handle for Okendo.

In the second half, Allstars made tactical switches bringing in Jason Chege and Chris Njenga who changed the game as they pressed high up. However strikers Allan Omondi and Samuel Otieno were lethargic with the experienced Sofapaka staying solid. Meshack Karani and Timonah Wanyonyi were to close shop with beautiful goals that beat substitute custodian Brian Otieno who earlier made good saves off Karani and Willis Ouma in the 67^th and 71^st minutes.

Kangemi all stars coach David Machira was unperturbed by the loss terming the match as a steppingstone to gauge themselves with top-tier teams

“I’m proud of my team because this is the first time we are playing against a top side. We have taken a lot of positives in this game going forward as we seek promotion to the NSL,” stated Machira whose side leads in the FKF division one league.

His opposite number, Sam Ssimbwa said the match is a motivation to his squad since this is the first cup this season.

“I am proud of my boys for displaying a good show today and winning this cup because we were bundled out of the GOTV shield cup tournament and the KPL league crown is already out of our reach. Today I have given a lot of my youngsters in the team a chance to play and they surprised me with the five goal win.” quipped Ssimbwa who squad is currently at second spot on the top-tier league.

Ministry of Sports representative Caroline Kariuki praised both teams for putting up a good show and bringing young people together during the Mashujaa Day.

“We normally hold this tournament every year to try and bring the youth together as a symbol of unity and also to enable the team playing in the lower division to brush shoulders with a top team from the top-tier league. Next time we will select another team to play a top KPL side as continuity,” said Kariuki.

Football fans in Jericho and its environs will have a lot to feast their eyes on today when Kenyan Premier League (KPL) side Sofapaka engage NSL side Kangemi United in a Mashujaa Day Cup match at Camp Toyoyo ground.

Sofapaka will be re-united with their fans in Eastlands as the last time they played at the Nairobi City County-owned facility was on April 22, 2017 when they were held to a barren draw by Kakamega Homeboyz.

Batoto Ba Mungu will be using the match whose kickoff is 3pm as build-up for their KPL clash against Western Stima at Narok sub-county Stadium on Sunday.

According to Sofapaka Technical Director Martin Ndagano, the match will provide an ideal platform to try out some of the team’s fringe players.

“We want to gauge the capability of players who have not been playing as well as those who have been on the reserve bench. Kangemi United is a good team and we hope that they will give us a good match,’’ said Ndagano.

Following the impending development, first choice goalkeeper Mathias Kigonya is bound to give way for either George Opiyo or the youthful Reuben Juma to be in the starting squad.

The team is expected to have a sprinkling of regular players, and fans who will be in attendance may have an opportunity of watching the likes of Ezekiel Okare, Jonathan Mugabi and Meshack Karani.

Sofapaka will be playing the match with the inspiration of not only beating Bandari 2-1 in a league fixture in Mombasa last weekend, but also with the pride of having their tactician Sam Ssimbwa declared the KPL August, 2017 Coach in a ceremony held in Nairobi two days ago.

At only 18 years of age, Sofapaka FC fast-rising goalkeeper,  Reuben Juma is already living his dream of breaking through the ranks to feature at the senior level.

His creativity and eccentric demeanour while playing for Sofapaka junior team was what caught the attention of the senior team’s Head Coach Sam Ssimbwa who recently fielded him to replace regular Mathias Kigonya who had sustained a shoulder injury.

Juma did not disappoint in his debut for Batoto Ba Mungu with observers even remarking that besides goalkeeping in which he was assisted by George Opiyo during Kigonya’s absence, the lad had the qualities of an outfield player.

But Juma reckons that his calling lies in stopping shots from marauding forwards and would wish to be instrumental for Sofapaka and hopefully don the starting jersey on a regular basis.

“When Kigonya was injured, I just wanted to prove to all and sundry that I had had what it takes to fill the gap. I’m happy that the technical bench believed in my abilities and nothing is as good as that as it gives you get ample exposure going forward,” said Juma.

“He added,” It is the dream of every player to be considered in the first eleven. As for me, I will keep on working hard not only to make a breakthrough in Sofapaka’s starting squad but also try to impress the national team selectors,”

To a layman, Juma’s exploits are least surprising as he is a product of the football-crazy Eastlands part of Nairobi that has produced players of international repute.

He attended Makongeni Primary School on Jogoo Road before he transferred to Atlas Primary after which he was enrolled at Makongeni High School.

In restrospect, Makongeni is the epicentre of greatest Kenya players including ex-Reli and Gor Mahia striker Patrick “Adesh” Oyiengo, Joseph Weke formerly of AFC Leopards and current Gor Mahia goalkeeper Boniface Oluoch.

As such, youngsters like Juma were always going to follow in the footsteps of these great footballers and now that he is in Sofapaka’s books, the sky is ultimately the limit for him.

After testing football waters in the Makongeni neighborhood, Juma was snapped up by Nairobi provincial side Naivas FC before venturing into a career with Kenya Methodist University.

He realized his full potential when he joined Sofapaka under-21 side and was in the team that made it to the group stages of the KPL junior championships in 2015.

Juma says former Ulinzi and Harambee Stars glove-man Francis Ochieng’ is his mentor and who has contributed a great deal to his rise in the beautiful game.

“I used to attend matches at City Stadium where I watched Ochieng’ play for Ulinzi Stars and I was impressed by his skills. I approached him and he instilled in me the nitty gritty of becoming a great goalkeeper. The rest is history,” said Juma.

He describes the current Sofapaka squad as laden with exceptional talent capable of making the team go places.

“We have a great team and coaches and by the look of things, Sofapaka is bound to a great team not only in Kenya but Africa as a whole,” said Juma.

Sofapaka skipper Hillary Echesa has called on his mates to keep up the fight even though the team’s chances of winning the KPL trophy in the season are very slim. Sofapaka have to win all the remaining matches while Gor Mahia has to lose all of them.

The team is placed second and with a very slim chance of surpassing Gor in the standings but Echesa has placed emphasis on strong finish, starting with the game against Western Stima, which comes on Sunday 22 October at the Narok County Stadium.

Winning momentum

“We hope to continue with the winning momentum when we take to the pitch to play Stima. We need three points to consolidate our place and I think this is a good chance,” he said.

Echesa is the most senior player at the team, and the status comes with leadership. He acknowledges that the young players at the team need the guidance, to prepare them for a bigger fight in future.

Provide guidance

“My job here is very simple, to provide guidance to the young players coming up and encourage them to keep fighting. We have tried to reinforce in the second leg and we have quality players now, so the focus is on next season when we will fight for the league,” he added.

The midfielder is on his second stint at the team, having played for the side in 2014 before leaving for Nakuru AllStars and Chemelil Sugar.

Sofapaka head coach Sam Ssimbwa has acknowledged Kenyan Premier League standings Gor Mahia have been superior in the season even as Sofapaka pushed them in contention for the league title.

Gor Mahia are just one point from a 16th KPL title and Ssimbwa admits the class of players they had were the difference in the season but he has promised to give the league title a serious shot in 2018, if he will still be at the club.

Underdogs

Ssimbwa took over Sofapaka at the start of 2017, having watched the final matches of the 2016 season as Sofapaka fought to survive relegation and he notes that they were never given a chance in this campaign and with Gor in pole position to win the title, his side can only contend for second place.

“We started as underdogs; I got a team here that was almost getting relegated and so no one gave us much chance especially because there were so many changes in the team. You cannot compare our players to Gor Mahia players – they have very many internationals, some who even sit on the bench at the club and we have none so I am proud of the performance my players have given,” he stated.

August success

August 2017 was the most successful month for Sofapaka under Ssimbwa; the team won four and drew once in the five matches played, scoring 15 goals and conceding six. In the month the 2009 champions showed their real title credentials but that fizzled out soon after.

He points to injuries to key players as well as poor refereeing calls as the reason for the team’s slump.

“We played so well in August but after that we went a bit down due to various factors, including the injury to our goalkeeper Mathias Kigonya which in effect compelled to play more defensively. Then there was also the issue of poor officiating, more so in games against Homeboyz and Gor Mahia but we are not complaining; I am happy with the team.

50-50 chance

“We have been worthy competitors in the season and if I will still be here next season we will fight for the title. The chances that I will be here remain 50 – 50,” he added.

The team are scheduled to play Western Stima this coming weekend with nothing but hope to consolidate their second spot.