Kisii, Kenya, Oct 20 – Home team Shabana FC are the 2020 Mashujaa Day Cup champions after upsetting 12-time Kenyan Premier League champions AFC Leopards 1-0 in a match hosted at the Gusii Stadium on Tuesday.
Fred Nyakundi slotted the lone goal at the half hour mark to hand the Super League side a bright start ahead of the season that is scheduled to kick-off in November.
Both teams were using the match as part of their pre-season and an opportunity to gauge new signings. Ingwe will continue with their pre-season as they head to Iten for a 10-day boot camp.
The win saw Shabana, a former formidable team in the Kenyan Premier League, avenge against Ingwe after going down 2-1 when the two teams last met in Kisumu.
Shabana shot-stopper Dennis Ayusa hopes the win will motivate the team to work hard and scale up back to the top tier League.
“It has been a good day playing against a team that plays in the top tier and has a lot of followers. We are happy to win the match this is second time we are meeting them, they beat us in Kisumu but today we have revenged at our home ground. I wish to play well and play in Kenyan Premier League and hopefully called up to Harambee Stars,” Ayusa, who has played in the National Super League for the last three seasons, said after the match.
AFC Leopards head coach Anthony ‘Modo’ Kimani said the loss has opened up their eyes as they will head to pre-season to work on their undoing.
“This match has showed us where we need to work on, most of the new players did not play because they have not gotten time to train with others, we are heading for 10 days camp in Iten, we will have time to bond as a team and plan the way forward for the new season, Shabana is a good team we have learnt a lot from the in this match,” Kimani stated.
-By Brick Mary-