There were no changes on top of the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF PL) after the leading teams drew in their weekend fixture.
League leaders Kenya Police and Tusker FC hot on the heels of the policemen in second place were held to draws by their oponents.
Current FKF Premier League top scorer Ryan Ogam and Tusker FC had a frustrating afternoon as the striker failed to find the back of the net in their barren draw against KCB FC at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos on Sunday.
This was the second consecutive weekend that Ogam had failed to hit the target having had a quiet outing in the last game against Ulinzi Stars.
Perhaps buoyed by the Sports Personality of the Month award received during the week, Ogam was largely expected to return to the score sheet and take his tally to 16 in 15 matches.
However, the police-marking employed by the KCB backline limited him and his fellow forwards and would result in the fourth draw of the season for the Brewers.
The result certainly left a dent in Tusker’s bid for the title, as the twelve-time champions had hoped to deposit three points in their account and return to the summit.
Having watched Kenya Police play Sofapaka to a one-all draw at the same venue, in what was a lunch hour kick-off, Tusker went all out but KCB were equal to the challenge.
It was not the result KCB wished for either as they had hoped to claim all points and arrest their three-game winless streak.
table-toppers Kenya Police needed a late equalizer from Brian Okoth to force a 1-1 draw with Sofapaka.
Okoth rose highest to power in the leveller with just a minute of normal time remaining, extending Police’s unbeaten run in the league to 11 games, but handing second-placed Tusker the initiative to take over the league lead in their late afternoon fixture against KCB.
Sofapaka, keen to end their two-game losing streak, had taken the lead late in the first half through Ugandan Donato Okello, but could not see out their first win since Sunday 19 January.
With the result, Batoto ba Mungu remained ninth on the log with 25 points.
While there was nothing to separate the two clubs in Machakos, Kayci Odhiambo made the difference for AFC Leopards at Dandora Stadium as his sole strike was enough to down Nairobi City Stars.
Odhiambo struck in the 73rd minute to guarantee Ingwe the eighth win of the season which places the club just two points behind bitter rivals, Gor Mahia.
City Stars, who recently hired Salim Babu, remain in the red zone and a point adrift of safety.
Babu, who succeeded Nicholas Muyoti, will hope to register his first win since taking over when Simba wa Nairobi plays Kakamega Homeboyz in the next game.
Zedekiah “Zico” Otieno wrapped up his tenure as Gor Mahia’s interim coach with a hard fought 2-1 win against Posta Rangers in an FKF Premier League match staged at Dandora Stadium on Saturday.
Otieno is set to vacate the head coach role following the appointment of Croatian tactician Sinisa Mihic.
The arrival of the 48-year-old’s comes after a series of inconsistent performances, leaving K’Ogalo five points behind league leaders Kenya Police.
The win leaves Gor Mahia third on the table with 31 points, while Rangers remain bottom of the log with 17 points.
Kariobangi Sharks failed to register their first win of the year after wasting decent chances upfront to settle for a barren draw with Shabana at Gusii Stadium on Sunday.
Sharks, who fielded two of their three mid-season signings, were seeking to bring to an end a six-game winless run stretching from last year, but ended up spurning decent first-half chances, with their drought extending to seven matches.
The result meant Sharks jumped a place up to 13th, while Shabana, with their seventh draw of the season, remained fifth with 28 points. Kenya Police 1-1 Sofapaka
Kakamega Homeboyz stretched their recent unbeaten run in the FKF Premier League to nine games after overpowering Mara Sugar 2-0 at Mumias Sports Complex on Saturday. For Mara Sugar, the defeat was a major setback following their 1-0 loss to Kenya Police last weekend.
The Millers now have just one win in their last five games, leaving them on 22 points. Meanwhile, Homeboyz moved up to eighth with 26 points after securing their sixth win of the season.
FC Talanta and Mathare United played to a 1-1 draw, extending both teams’ winless runs in recent weeks at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos. Talanta took the lead in the 58th minute through an own goal, but Mathare’s Stephen Okola equalized four minutes later.
The result leaves Talanta in 15th place with 18 points, while Mathare sit 13th with 21 points after 19 league matches.