Small Simba FC from South Mugirango, who were one goal behind in the first half, staged an impressive turnaround during the second half. They secured a 3-1 victory over Ichuni FC from Nyaribari Masaba, clinching the Safaricom Chapa Dimba Kisii County championship in a fiercely competitive tournament hosted at Sameta Grounds in Kisii County.
In the initial half, Ichuni demonstrated their superiority, taking the lead with a one-goal advantage. This came courtesy of a superbly executed penalty by Emmanuel Onuonga in the 11th minute, following a foul committed by Elijah Kenyanya inside the penalty box.
In the second half, Small Simba displayed exceptional performance after Coach Wycliff Magero made two crucial substitutions. Omwoyo Elijah, who came off the bench, scored an early equalizing goal in the first minute of the second half. Four minutes later, Rashid William extended his side’s lead with a powerful shot after goalkeeper Brian Gwaro failed to clear the ball from inside the box. Alex Nyabwari sealed the victory with a splendid strike in the 63rd minute, securing his team’s third goal to send Coach Lenny Kigen’s team home.
“We are excited to have won the Safaricom Chapa Dimba Kisii County finals. We were trailing by one goal in the first half, but in the second half, I made two crucial substitutions that brought about significant changes in the game, ultimately earning us today’s sweet victory against our competitors. We created numerous chances, and I am thrilled that my team capitalized on them to secure our victory,” said Wycliff Magero, Head Coach of Small Simba FC.
In the girl’s category, Kisii Queens secured a 1-0 win against Moteiribe Girls to qualify for the regional knockouts to be held in two weeks. The goal was scored by seventeen-year-old Christine Osebe, who netted in the 52nd minute of the game.
In Siaya County, Victoria Sports Academy were crowned the Safaricom Chapa Dimba County champions in the girls’ category after edging out Jera Girls from Ugenya 3-1. Victoria Sports Academy earned their victory courtesy of a hat trick from the talented super striker Leila Awuor in the 6th, 20th, and 79th minutes of the game, respectively. Leila has so far netted eight goals in total since the tournament kicked off in the Nyanza region. She earned the top striker award, taking home KES. 10,000.
Jera’s only goal was scored by Christine Achieng, who came off the bench to score the only and consoling goal for Jera Girls in the 65th minute. The match was played at the Siaya K.M.T.C Grounds with hundreds of fans in attendance.
Individual prizes included the top goalkeeper, top scorer (Boys & Girls), each taking home KES 10,000, and Most Valuable Player (Boys & Girls), each taking home KES 10,000 and a TVET Scholarship courtesy of Safaricom Foundation.
The county winners will now proceed to Inter-County matches to secure a slot in the regional finals.
The match between Ambira Mobimba and St. Peter’s Wagai Mixed was abandoned one minute before the final whistle after fans assaulted center referee Kevin Amol, who had sent off Ambira Mobimba’s Emmanuel Otieno with a red card for using abusive language toward one of the opponent’s players. The verdict of the match will be determined by FKF in the coming days.
The other Nyanza County finals (Homa Bay, Migori, Kisumu, and Nyamira) are scheduled to be played next weekend on the 16th and 17th before culminating in the intercounty playoffs.
Safaricom Chapa Dimba aims to provide a structured platform for scouts and coaches to tap into new talent and build feeder systems for the Kenyan football leagues across the country while also training a total of 250 coaches. The football tournament targets young people aged between 16 and 20 years old.