- Police thrashed Sofapaka 4-0 in the quarters
- They have never won a senior top flight trophy
- KCB eliminated defending champions Kakamega Homeboyz
Kenya Police FC have vowed to give an absolute all in their quest for silverware, with their eyes trained on clinching the FKF MozzartBet Cup.
Police progressed to the semi-final for the first time ever after seeing off Sofapaka 4-0 in the quarter finals, and head coach Salim Babu says they have their eyes pegged on silverware.
“As a team, this is a decision we made that we are giving our all to try and win the Cup. We will battle to reach the final. We will give everything to see to it that we achieve this target. The hunger among the players is to play Continental football and this is what charges us in” the coach opined.
The Police coach added; “We are under no pressure. I have seen some massive improvement with the players and they are pushing each other from training and in matches everyone wants to do well.”
The sentiments are shared by striker David Okoth, who scored one of the goals in the win over Sofapaka. The striker says the players have belief among themselves that they can achieve the target.
“The target for the team is to win the Cup. There is massive confidence in the team and I believe we deserve it, looking at how we are playing. There is nothing to prevent us from not winning,” Okoth noted.
Police open the scoring through Okoth
Kenya Police’s Patrick Matasi celebrates David Okoth’s goal
Against Sofapaka, Okoth opened the scoring before a pair of goals from Sammy Onyango and a late one from Marvin Nabwire sealed the victory.
Batoto ba Mungu should have put Police to the sword early on when Darius Msagha intercepted a pass from keeper Patrick Matasi who was out of his line, but the forward failed to land the ball on target from 30 yards out.
They were punished after 23 minutes when Okoth broke the deadlock, winning the ball off Rodgers Kipkemoi on the right before cutting into the edge of the box and shooting low past the keeper.
On the other end, Batoto ba Mungu were handed a chance to get back level when Msagha made a good run on the right before shooting a low cross into the box, but Thomas Kakaire could not tap it home unmarked at the backpost.
In the second half, Police needed just eight minutes to double their lead, this time Francis Kahata’s pass being flicked on by Tito Okello into the run of Onyango, the latter doing the easy job of beating the keeper one on one.
On-song Onyango makes it 3-0 for Police
Kenya Police’s Brace Scorer Samuel Onyango celebrates his goal
The former Gor Mahia and Ulinzi Stars forward then made it 3-0 with a very simple tap in after Okoth did the dirty work on the right to make a daunting run and slap in a low cross.
Nabwire then finished off the job late on from close range after making a good run into the box following a quick change of passes with Davis Kinanga.
Sofapaka head coach Zedekiah Otieno rued a lack of concentration in his team for their defeat, but says they have bitter lessons to pick moving forward.
“We had a really good game plan coming into this match but we lost concentration and gave away an easy first goal. In the second half, before we even settled into the game they scored the second goal and it became very difficult for us,” the tactician noted.
He adds; We have a very long way to go and it is a difficult job trying to build when you are in competition. We are trying to grow in each match and we will pick the positives and move.”
KCB stun holders Homeboyz
Action between KCB and Kakamega Homeboyz
Meanwhile, KCB have qualified for the semi-final of the Cup, after stunning defending champions Kakamega Homeboyz, beating them 1-0 in the quarter final duel.
Danson Namasaka’s solitary strike in the second half was enough for the bankers to keep their hopes of clinching a first ever top flight title alive.
The bankers created numerous chances in the first half but striker Derrick Otanga, and Philemon Nyakwakwa could not find the back of the net to hand KCB a lead in the hotly contested tie.
Namasaka however pounced with a neat finish in the second half to hand the bankers a slim advantage, though they should have added to their tally had they converted the myriad of chances they had.
KCB FC head coach Bernard Mwalala was delighted with the performance of the team, especially getting a win against one of his former employers.
“I am proud of the boys for keeping their heads up and for winning against a very good side. We know that the semifinals will be a totally different ball game and we are ready as KCB to battle. Going forward, we need to be clinical in front of the goal to kill the game early enough,” the tactician said.
The bankers will now switch their attention to the Premier League, with a date against Kariobangi Sharks coming up next weekend.
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