Police firm grip on FKF-PL summit, Shabana add to KCB’s woes

The Etienne Ndayiragije-coached side, gunning for their first ever league title, top the standings on 58 points after 30 rounds with four matches left for play although they have played one more fixture than second-placed Gor Mahia.

On the flip side, the loss left Bandari in eighth place with 40 points from 30 matches as the Dockers lost further ground in their top four finish target.

Bandari’s Robert Onyango tested Police keeper Job Ochieng with a powerful 30-yard free kick which was well handled but 10 minutes later David Sakwa nearly caught the Police defence off guard with a cheeky chip, but Ochieng was alert and tipped the ball over the bar.

Police thought they had taken the lead in the 25th minute when Clinton Kinanga found the back of the net from an Aboud Omar free kick, but the goal was ruled out for offside—the first real scare for the home team.

The teams went into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.

In the second half, Police made three quick substitutions, bringing on David Simon, Brian Musa, and David Arishura in place of Eric Zakayo, Kinanga, and Francis Kahata. The changes energized the visitors and pushed Bandari onto the back foot.

Mohammed Bajaber missed two clear chances to break the deadlock. First, in the 64th minute, he failed to convert into an empty net following a defensive mix-up in the penalty area. Just four minutes later, he squandered another opportunity after being played through by a flick from Simon.

With five minutes left, Bandari keeper Farouk Shikhalo made a crucial one-on-one save to deny Simon what looked like a certain goal.

But in stoppage time, Nabwire finally found the breakthrough. He latched onto a cross from Jesse Were and calmly slotted the ball past Shikhalo to seal the win.

Speaking after the match, Kenya Police head coach Etienne Ndayiragije praised his players' resilience and emphasized the importance of the result in their title ambitions.

“It was a tough match. Bandari were very well organized, but we kept pushing and eventually got the goal we needed. These three points are crucial for our title chase,” said Ndayiragije. “Every team wants to win. Our focus is to keep winning and see where that takes us.”

Elsewhere, Shabana FC edged KCB 1-0 away at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos thanks to a goal from Keith Imbali, while bottom-placed Nairobi City Stars pulled off a surprise 3-2 home victory over Mara Sugar.