NAIROBI Kenya, April 2 
– Despite not taking to the pitch over the weekend, AFC Leopards are not only the only unbeaten side but are still firmly on the summit of the Kenya Premier League (KPL) standings.
The Jan Koops led squad who lead the table with 20 points were supposed to play their perennial rivals Gor Mahia in their KPL Top 8 fixture but unresolved issues resulting from the K’Ogalo fans riots witnessed during their derby led to the postponement of the tie to a later date.
2009 champions Sofapaka had the chance to go level with Leopards but squandered it after they suffered their second successive defeat losing 1-0 way to Chemelil.
This result saw the two sides now tie for second spot on 17 points though the Salim Ali lads have a superior goal difference.
The change of guard in the Ulinzi stars bench failed to inspire the military side back to winning ways after they were beaten 2-0 by defending champions Tusker.
New coach Sammy Simiyu who was last week appointed to replace Benjamin Nyangweso suffered his first defeat in charge as Kenneth Wendo scored a brace in both halves of the tie.
The win leaves the Brewers fourth on the table on 15 points as Ulinzi whose misery piled up after Captain Geoffrey Kokoyo, was red carded minutes before the match after an altercation with Tusker’s striker Paul Were slipped to 11th on eight points.
The soldiers,continue with their poor run this season that has seen them lose four matches as well as conceding the highest number of goals standing at 14 followed closely by Rangers on 12.
Thika United who last week humiliated Rangers 6-0 kept up their fine run to lie fifth on 13 after the league top scorer Kepha Aswani once again rose to the occasion to head in a Clifton Miheso corner in 74th minute. The result left Karuturi ninth on similar point’s one place below KCB who lost 2-1 to Ingwe last week.
It was Aswani’s fifth goal in two games as the Thika based side made it three wins in a row.The win also maintained the team’s good record against the Michael Nam’s boys having won four of their last seven matches and drawn two.
With their recent 2-1 away win at City Stars and a previous win by a similar margin over Karuturi Sports, Muhoroni Youth who have been remarkable since their promotion failed to shine at home and could only manage to salvage a point as they held to a barren draw by Rangers.
Rangers coach Ezekiel Akwana must have been happy with the one point away as they seek to recover from the 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Thika United.
Muhoroni now have 11 points similar to Western Stima who are however one place above on a superior goal difference after they beat Zedekiah Otieno’s tenth placed Sony Sugar 2-1 at the Bukhungu stadium.
City Stars made their first win in the league after beating Oserian 1-0 when Dan Serunkuma set up George Odari to score the solitary goal in the 30th minute. The win meant that City moved from bottom place while the Naivasha-based team dropped to the relegation zone with five points.
Mathare United who are bottom of the table on four points from seven matches take on Gor Mahia at the City Stadium on Wednesday. It will be the first assignment and meet for the two teams newly appointed coaches, Croatian Zdrvako Logarusic and Stephen Okumbi respectively.
Later that evening, Tusker will face off with Rangers at the Nyayo Stadium in their Top 8 tie. It will be an fascinating encounter since former Tusker coach James Nandwa will be sitting on the opposite side’s bench after he was appointed technical director at Rangers.
Weekend Results
Sunday 01 April 2012
City Stars 1 – 0 Oserian
Muhoroni Youth 0 – 0 Rangers
Ulinzi Stars 0 – 2 Tusker
Saturday 31 March 2012
Western Stima 2 – 1 SonySugar
Karuturi Sports 0 – 1 Thika United
Chemelil Sugar 1 – 0 Sofapaka
Table
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 AFC Leopards 8 6 2 0 12 3 9 20
2 Sofapaka 8 5 2 1 10 6 4 17
3 Chemelil Sugar 8 5 2 1 6 2 4 17
4 Tusker 8 4 3 1 9 4 5 15
5 Thika United 8 3 4 1 11 5 6 13
6 Western Stima 8 3 2 3 9 8 1 11
7 Muhoroni Youth 8 3 2 3 6 6 0 11
8 KCB 7 3 1 3 9 7 2 10
9 Karuturi Sports 8 2 3 3 7 7 0 9
10 SonySugar 8 2 2 4 7 9 -2 8
11 Ulinzi Stars 8 2 2 4 11 14 -3 8
12 Rangers 7 1 4 2 6 12 -6 7
13 Gor Mahia 7 1 3 3 3 5 -2 6
14 City Stars 8 1 3 4 4 10 -6 6
15 Oserian 8 1 2 5 5 11 -6 5
16 Mathare United 7 1 1 5 5 11 -6 4
