We have reached that stage of the league which Roberto
Mancini so famously described during the last EPL season as “squeaky bum
time” - that time when the only teams
not feeling any sort of heat are the teams that can neither win the league nor
get relegated. And contrary to the expectations after 10 games at the beginning of
the season, K’ogalo are right in the mix. The title racearithmetics for K’ogalo is now
simple, we win all our remaining games and we become champions regardless of
other results. But the run in is never simple. With six games to go, I now take a look at how we have done in our last six games over the last 4 seasons,
with the most dramatic being the 2010 season when we were competing for the
championship until the last day of the season.
In 2008, we had started the season poorly, winning only 3 of
our first 10 games and 5 of the first 20 games. However going into the last 6
games we had stabilized a bit and though there was still a remote possibility
of relegation, we knew we would survive. In the final run in we faced Bandari,
Mahakama, Mathare Youth, Agrochemicals, Chemelil and City Stars. The results (3
wins, 1 loss and 2 draws) were as follows:
10 October vs Bandari – Won 1-0 (Julius “Awilo” Owino)
18 October vs Mahakama – Won 1-0 (???)
01 November vs Mathare Youth – Won 4-3 (Zablon Otieno,
Julius Owino, John Rigo, Habil Otieno)
09 November vs Agrochemicals – Lost 0-1
15 November vs Chemelil – Drew 0-0
30 November vs City Stars – Drew 0-0
In 2009 we had pretty much established ourselves as a stable
team and it was now obvious the dark years of instability at the turn of the
millennium were now behind us. We had however started the league on a shaky
note and only won 3 of the first 10 games (including a 3-2 win over Ingwe at
Kasarani) but were finishing the league strongly once again. Our final 6 games
included fixtures against Red Berets, Tusker, Agrochemicals, Bandari, KCB and
Karuturi. The results (4 wins, 2 losses) were as follows:
27 September vs Red Berets – Won 3-0 (Baldin Ngwa [2],
Francis Ocholla)
18 October vs Tusker – Won 1-0 (George Odhiambo “Backberry”)
24 October vs Agrochemicals – Won 2-1 (Ibrahim Kitawi, Eric
Masika)
31 October vs Bandari – Lost 1-2 (Peter Opiyo “Pinchez”)
08 November vs KCB – Won 2-1 (Duncan Owiti “Macheda” [2])
30 November vs Karuturi – Lost 0-1
2010 began with 4 consecutive draws and only 3 wins in the
first 10 games but a very strong 2nd leg saw us go into the last six
games in contention for the title, a mirror of the season we have had this
year. This run also included a game against the old enemy, Ingwe, in between
games against Mahakama, Karuturi, Thika, Sony and City Stars. The results (4
wins and 2 draws) were as follows:
26 September vs Mahakama – Won 2-0 (Ibrahim Kitawi, Kevin
Omondi “Daddy”)
16 October vs Karuturi – Drew 0-0
23 October vs AFC Leopards – Won 1-0 (Collins Okoth)
30 October vs Thika – Won 1-0 (Ivan Anguyo)
06 November vs Sony – Won 2-0 (Kevin Omondi “Daddy”, Baldin
Ngwa)
17 November vs City Stars – Drew 0-0
Collins Okoth celebrates the goal that downed Ingwe
In any other year prior to 2008, the season we had in 2011
would have been taken as successful but given the progression of the club over
the last few years, a 4th place finish (despite winning the FKL Cup)
was considered a disaster and Zico had to go. The season began with a 3-0 loss
to Rangers and despite 5 wins in the first 10 games, there would be a mid
season slump of 8 games without victory and 4 losses that saw us drop off the
pace. Towards the end, the race seemed to be about finishing above the old
enemy and we would eventually finish 4th, one place above Ingwe
despite their strong run under their new tactician Jan Koops. Going into our
last 6 games, which game on the back of a 3-0 loss to Ingwe, we faced Bandari,
Chemelil, Sony, City Stars, Rangers and Sofapaka. The results (3 wins, 2 draws,
1 loss) were as follows:
15 October vs Bandari – Lost 0-1
24 October vs Chemelil – Drew 0-0
30 October vs Sony – Won 2-1 (Ivan Anguyo, Dan Makori)
02 November vs City Stars – Won 1-0 (Moses Otieno)
17 November vs Rangers – Won 3-0 (Dan Makori, John
Kiplangat, Anthony Akumu)
26 November vs Sofapaka – Drew 0-0
We are obviously a team that can handle the pressure of the run-in, always winning more than we lose or draw at the death. Now let’s rally behind the boys and see how they will handle
the pressure of a run in and do better than the class of 2010 as we hope for a record that reads WWWWWW
