COMMENTARY: Why Shabana look primed for maiden FKFPL title after APS Bomet meltdown

Round 17 of the FKF Premier League had Shabana FC make their way to Bomet, not too long a trip for a regional bout against hosts APS Bomet.

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Coach Peter Okidi’s charges had everything going for them: a comfortable 3-1 lead till late, an unrelenting patronage from their Red Ultras in the away stands, and, needless to say, they were actually playing.

Too well, in fact, that what would happen in the closing stages would shock even the home team themselves. Playing shorthanded (Chris Wilunda had been sent off early on), APS struck twice under three minutes through Philip Wasai and Lawrence Kibet to even a tie they had no right in making away with a point.

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The Red Ultras felt shortchanged and dully demanded answers, only- they would not wait to get home for the same. Right there and then.

Kisii to Bomet is never an arduous journey, especially for a travelling fan, but the return journey whiffed of exasperation. The travelling fans believed their boys had let off APS, and a stand-off ensued in Kericho, with the team bus blocked. Answers demanded.

Though resolved amicably, one wonders how a team, only two seasons removed from battling relegation, straight away wants the full share of spoils every match week. Delusion? I do not think so.

It appears to me, and anyone who cares to go back a few years, the entitlement of a fanbase that knows how laborious it is to scale up from the lower divisions, however, big a name you may have.

A youthful fanbase that wants to live its own ‘glory years’ and not have to read newspaper stories of yore to understand how big of a club they are. A fanbase that knows better.

Coach Peter Okidi took the draw in his stride, and from a match that he could have easily thrown goalkeeper Stephen Ochieng under the bus for the disaster, did not lay a finger of blame on the custodian.

"It’s a collective mistake. We slept upfront, it trickled down to the midfield and finally all the way to the goalkeeper," Okidi told the press minutes after the match.

Such moments call for sobriety. A disaster of a performance, an angry crowd waiting at the gates (and in the age of social media- online too), Coach Okidi’s call that "Mistakes happen, and before the ball even gets to the goalkeeper it has beaten outfield players, so for me it’s a collective mistake. I will not blame the goalkeeper," is exactly why I am not surprised at how the team bounced back from that nightmare in Bomet.

The 2025/26 season is one of the hardest to call, from whichever end of the league table. The pole position has been swapped more times than ever- AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia especially starring in this episode- but the chasing pack are just within touching distance.

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One loses two games in a row, and one finds themselves out of the first eight. At the bottom end, you win two in a row, and you can as well start planning on finishing the season in the top eight.

Shabana felled Bandari in their return to action after the Bomet fracas. Players did not have to be told that it was a must-win contest, and homeboy Brian Michira delivered, separating the two sides with a 28th-minute penalty. Relief.

A critical component to Shabana’s attacking front, Michira had been missing for twelve matches in the first leg with an injury before returning on match day 14 to a rude welcome by Naibois.

He returned with a goal as Shabana fell 1-3 to Nairobi United. Michira, however, a crowd favourite- has since rediscovered a form many last saw from the previous campaign. But Michira does not score all the goals; that is the beauty of it.

Okidi’s boys have found the back of the net from almost every single position this season- even the regular centre-backs George Onyango and Mark Okolla have occasionally come upfront for a share of the pie.

Onyango’s goal on Wednesday at the death away to Mathare United takes Shabana to just within six points for leaders Gor Mahia, and tied with AFC Leopards, whom they take on next.

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Isn’t it a surprise that the top three clubs at the moment are coincidentally the ones with the top three fan bases in the country? I don’t think so. Shabana’s ascent to the front three- and even managing to stay there- has been nothing short of a close-run.

A proper corporate backing and a formidable 12th man patronage seem to finally coalesce into eventfulness for the Glamour Boys.

It has been four matches since Bomet, and it has also been four wins since Bomet. First fell Bandari in Gusii, then Posta Rangers away. A rude welcome then followed for Tusker’s new man at the helm, Julien Mette; a 1-0 win in Gusii before the latest drama in Nyayo Stadium courtesy of George Onyango against Mathare United. In this flawless spell, no goal conceded.

Two seasons ago, Shabana were two points above the relegation playoff position at the close of the 2023/24 season. They had barely scraped through. They had been second from bottom midway through the season.

A stupendous finish to the season with three final victories marked the Glamour Boys' safe. They had first had a close call against AFC Leopards, edging Ingwe 4-3, then easily dispatching Bidco 3-0.

A final day 1-0 win over Murang’a Seal completed a fine finish for the lads, who had now been properly welcomed back to the top flight. Taking no chances in the season that followed, Shabana managed an impressive fifth place finish, and as things look currently, in the form of their lives, more than ten matches to go and sitting third, we are looking at a unit of men that can realistically chase the title down to the wire.

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Defending champions Kenya Police are currently giving us a crash course on how not to defend a league. Tusker have been drunk all season, and with these two out of the way, Gor Mahia would have wished the title scoop to be a little less punishing; but there is the small matter of AFC Leopards, who- more than believe- have shown that they actually are going for the title.

Shabana sits in the shadows, occasionally breathing softly on the Leopard’s neck. They are yet to play the two rival community clubs in the second leg. Gor Mahia are one match-week away in Nairobi, while Leopards are up next.

It is Shabana’s finest hour, and there is no doubt it will be severely tested during those two match-ups because what will be at stake is greater than the stakes in Bomet.