AFC Leopards miss chance to pip Gor Mahia at the top after deflating defeat from Kenya Police FC

The unpredictable 2025/26 FKF Premier League title race produced another plot twist as Kenya Police FC cruised to a 3-0 victory over AFC Leopards to severely dent Ingwe's hopes of ending a 28-year wait for a league crown.

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First-half goals from Charles Ouma, Erick Ngava Zakayo and Yves Junior Koutiama were enough to see the Law Enforcers walk away with three points that catapulted them to third on the log.

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The defeat sees AFC Leopards fail to ascend to the summit of the log and leaves them two points behind arch-rivals Gor Mahia, with the record league champions having played a game less.

Leopards went into the match sitting second on the log with 55 points, two shy of league leaders Gor Mahia and therefore needed to beat Police to ascend to the summit of the table.

As it stands, Gor Mahia, who will take to the pitch on Sunday, 19 April, against Bandari FC, possess the possibility of extending their lead to five points.

Leopards were on a great run of form ahead of the match, having won their four previous encounters and accompanying them with four clean sheets.

Police were equally on a decent run of form, having secured five wins in their previous six matches, leaving them fourth on the log with 44 points.

Despite the return of Kayci Odhiambo and Emmanuel Lwangu, coach Fred Ambani stuck with the defensive partnership of Randi Bakari and Rami Coulibaly.

From the first whistle, the defending champions were on the pedestal, putting Leopards under the cosh, especially through the flanks where Erick Zakayo and Alvin Mang’eni were operating.

The Law Enforcers then took the lead in the sixth minute through on-form Burkinabe striker Yves Koutiama, who pounced on a defensive lapse to give Police the lead.

The lead seemed to have rattled Ingwe as goalkeeper James Ssetuba came to Leopards' rescue in the 27th minute, pulling a brilliant save to deny Police from doubling their lead.

However, the Ugandan could do little four minutes later when Erick Zakayo got to the end of a Daniel Sakari pass to calmly slot home and complete a devastating counterattack that tore Leopards apart.

From the second goal, things were seemingly falling apart for Leopards, who introduced vice captain Kayci Odhiambo for Coulibaly, but the confusion in the team’s defensive set-up still persisted.

With half time looming, Police got their third of the day in the 40th minute through South Sudan international Charles Ouma to take a three-goal cushion to the break.

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In a bid to strengthen their defensive unit, Ambani took off his full backs Fredrick Alushula and Samuel Semo for Brian Ojok and Victor Otieno at halftime.

With the changes and halftime team talk, Leopards came back as a much stronger side in the second half, pushing to recover the goals, but the damage was seemingly done in the first half as Police managed the game and denied Leopards the space to even get a consolation.

With the win, Ingwe lost further ground in the title race, failing to ascend to the summit of the log and with a risk of trailing Gor Mahia by five points should K'Ogalo win their match against Bandari on Sunday.

For Police, they moved up to third on the log with 47 points, 10 shy of Gor Mahia and eight below AFC Leopards.