Mathare United have secured promotion back to the Kenyan Premier League after defeating Darajani Gogo 3-0 in a National Super League game at Dandora Stadium on Friday afternoon.
The win places the Slum Boys at the top of the table with 79 points, leapfrogging Mara Sugar, who have 78 points, ahead of Mara’s game against Kibera Black Stars later this afternoon.
United picked up maximum points with ease, putting Gogo, who had nothing to play for, to the sword.
Meshack Ochieno opened the scoring in the first half before Steve Kimari and Fidel Otieno completed the win with two second-half goals.
Mathare received a major boost on Thursday when the FKF’s Leagues and Competitions Committee awarded them three points from their match against Rainbow played last month after a suspended Rainbow official, Lawrence Suji, was found to have sat on the bench during the game. This decision reduced the gap between Mathare and Mara to just one point.
Suji was reportedly on the bench against United despite being sent off during the game against Mara Sugar days earlier. This decision was contested by both Rainbow and Mara, who insisted that it was head coach Mohammed Hamisi and Technical Director Stanley Okumbi who were dismissed, not Suji.
“No sane coach would take his team out when he knows he is serving a suspension. Both Okumbi and Hamisi are top professionals and would never do such a thing. FKF should stop this; they are killing the beautiful game,” stated Mara Sugar’s head coach Benedict Wanjala.
He further argued that FKF should cease making decisions in the boardroom to benefit a single team and allow the games to be decided on the field.
“In my entire coaching career, I have never seen a situation like this before. We know the tactics and who they want to benefit. As Mara, we are not happy. Let football be played on the pitch, not in boardrooms. They are fighting against what God has planned, and we will beat them out there,” he added.
The two teams will meet in the penultimate game of the season next weekend at the Awendo Green Stadium.
United was relegated at the end of last season after they finished in the second-to-last position with 29 points, but they have managed to bounce back immediately. Third-placed Naivas FC and fourth-placed Nairobi United will contest the playoff spot.
