Leopards edge out Thika, Muhoroni hold Nakumatt

AFC Leopards on Wednesday beat Thika United 2-0 at the Thika Sub-County Stadium in a thrilling midweek SportPesa Premier League match.

In other results, Allan Wanga-inspired Tusker sunk Bandari 3-0 at the Mbaraki Sports Club in Mombasa while Karibangi Sharks rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Posta Rangers at Kasarani.

The other contest between Muhoroni Youth and visiting Nakumatt also ended in a one-all stalemate.

Burundian import Alexis Kitenge scored the opener for Leopards before a Christopher Oruchum own-goal sealed the victory for Robert Matano's men in Thika.

"This is a better performance compared to how we played (in the goalless draw) against Homeboyz. But there are areas we should improve on because we want to get into the top eight," Leopards coach Robert Matano said after the match.

At Kasarani, an impressive Rangers seemed on their way to garner a comfortable victory against a plucky Sharks side before Masoud Juma struck twice to deny Sammy Omollo’s charges maximum points.

Joseph Nyagah opened the scoring for Rangers just nine minutes into the match before completing his brace in the 27th minute.

Then Masoud Juma took over.

The forward, who was impressive all afternoon, responded with goals late in the first and second half to help his side snatch a point.

"Lots of energy eventually paid off. We gave away two easy goals in the first half but managed to fight back. That is crucial," Sharks coach William Mluhya explained.

In Mombasa, Wanga gave the visitors the lead in the opening half, before further goals from Humphrey Mieno and Michael Khamati struck late on to give Tusker their third successive win in the league.

Wanga opened the scoring after he was teed up by Jackson Macharia before Mieno struck from the spot after Boniface Muchiri was brought down inside the box. Khamati then completed a sweeping counter-attack from the brewers.

"We dominated this game for most of the time and we deserved to win by more than three goals. My players played confidently and after just quarter an hour of play, I already knew we will win this match," Tusker coach George "Best" Nsimbe said.

In Muhoroni, A Hassan Kikoyo penalty at the death helped hosts Muhoroni Youth salvage a point in their 1-1 draw with debutantes Nakumatt. Kelvin Thairu put the visitor ahead after 20 minutes of play before Kikoyo struck deep into stoppage time.

COLLATED RESULTS

AFC Leopards 2-0 Thika United

Bandari 0-3 Tusker

Muhoroni 1-1 Nakumatt

Karibangi Sharks 2-2 Posta Rangers

Reports by David Kwalimwa, Abdulrahman Sheriff and Vincent Opiyo