Old rivalries will be renewed in the semi-finals of the GOtv Shield set to be played this weekend.
Sony Sugar have set a date with defending champions Gor Mahia while Sofapaka will play AFC Leopards in fixtures expected to be explosive.
On their way to the semi-finals, Sony needed post-match penalty shots to lock out Mathare United 4-2 while Gor Mahia easily dispatched Western Stima 2-0 with both goals from Dan Sserunkuma.
It will be the third time that Sony Sugar are meeting Gor Mahia this season. Their last encounter, four weeks ago, did not end after Sony fans invaded the pitch protesting a goal scored by Gor Mahia defender David Owino.
The matter has not yet been decided but will be ruled upon tomorrow. Apart from the old rivalry, the GOtv Shield gives Gor an opportunity to go for a double this season. The team already has one hand on the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) title with five matches to go.
Sony on the other hand will be hoping they can make up for the poor form in the league with a good show in the GOtv Shield and coach Zedekiah Otieno has said as much.
Good run
“Our performance in the GOtv Shield has been incredible compared to our league performance. We hope this can be translated to our KPL performance,” he said.
His Gor Mahia counterpart Bobby Williamson prefers to focus on one game at a time and insists he is not thinking about Sony at the moment.
“We are happy to have edged out Western Stima and now we must focus on our next league match against Thika United away,” he said.
The second GOtv shield semi-final match between AFC Leopards and Sofapaka also has some history attached to it. Leopards thrashed Karuturi Sports 3-0 in Sunday’s quarter-final while Sofapaka edged out FKF Division One side Finlays 1-0.
Going into this match, it is worth noting that Leopards have beaten Sofapaka twice already this season on the league front and it will be the turn of the latter to seek revenge.
Winning streak
Leopards have been on a roll since hiring former international James Nandwa, picking maximum wins in their last five matches.
Both Leopards and Sofapaka have just an outside chance of winning the KPL title and the GOtv Shield remains their only opportunity to bag silverware this season.
At the moment AFC Leopards are playing an entertaining game. Karuturi Sports player cum coach Jacob Omondi admitted that Leopards deserved victory in the 3-0 win over Karuturi. Not even a desperate move by Omondi to take part in the match could motivate the club to get a consolation goal.
It confirms the level of form and commitment Leopards are enjoying as they target to win at least one cup this season.
The winners of the competition will also represent the country in next year’s Confederations Cup apart from pocketing Sh2 million prize money at stake.
It is the first time in history that the Cup competition has attracted prize money and SuperSport came on board as sponsors.
This year’s tournament also attracted all the 16 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) clubs who have in the past snubbed the competition.
By GILBERT WANDERA, The Standard
