Schools triumph over clubs as Ebwali boys beat Division 2 side Compel Spotiff
Vihiga County’s Ebwali Boys beat Kakamega’s Compel Sportif 1-0 to be crowned the Western Region Chapa Dimba na Safaricom champions in the regional finals played, Sunday 21 August at the Bukhungu stadium in Kakakmega county.
Austine Odongo netted the solitary goal of the match to put Ebwali boys ahead in the 47th minute as the school boys saw off a spirited fight from their opponents Compel Sportif.
It was a sweet win for Ebwali, who proved that school teams can face off with established clubs and emerge victorious at the big stage as they defeated Compel Sportif, the 2023 Football Kenya Federation Division 2 Zone A champions.
Enroute to the finals, Ebwali Boys so off competition from Kakamega’s The Menace securing a 3-2 win in the last match of the day-long semifinals. In the first boys semifinal, Compel Sportif’’s booked their spot in the final after sinking Busia’s John Osogo 5-3 on penalties after the two teams had settled in a 3-3 draw in regular time.
In the girls’ finals, Brenda Girls beat Lugari Progressive 2-1 to clinch the Chapa Dimba na Safaricom western region girls’ title. Brenda girls made their intention clear early in the match when Esther Wafula netted their first goal in the 15th minute as the match went into the half time break with Brenda girls on the lead.
Lugari Progressive coached by former Kenyan international Fred Serenge responded with a second half goal courtesy of Marion Musanga who curled in a clear shot in the 75th minute to makes matters level.
With the match heading to the final whistle, Esther Mukhwana struck the second for Brenda girls in the 84th minute to secure a championship win for the Bungoma county outfit.
During the semi finals on Saturday, Brenda Girls from Bungoma, who secured their slot in the finals after hammering Chakol Mixed 4-1 bounced back from going a goal down at the break to score four times in the second half courtesy of a brace by Esther Mukhwana and goals by Lavenda Nasambu and Joina Namukuru.
“We are happy that we have won the regional competition. It was not easy but we fought hard and my girls were able to face the opponents and get the results. We now focus on the next stage,” Brenda girls coach Dickson Simiyu said.
“In the semis, we started off badly in the first half, but we managed to bounce back in the second half so today we did not want to risk and we got our first goal early to control the game. We thank Safaricom for such a well-organized tournament as it has truly helped us to witness amazing talents here at the grassroots,” Simiyu added.
The winners of each winning team (boys and girls) will take home KES. 250,000 and book a slot to represent the region at the national finals set for early next year in Nairobi. The runners-up teams will take home KES. 150,000 each.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP), Best Goalkeeper and Top Scorer (boys and girls) will each receive KES. 30,000.
This year, Western Kenya registered a total of 441 teams participating in the tournament with Kakamega leading at 162, followed by Bungoma (152), Busia (64), and Vihiga (63