Mozzart Bet Cup: Free-scoring Shabana defender reveals title plan after punching ticket to quarters
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Reading Time: 3min | Sun. 12.04.26. | 14:30
Omondi has found the back of the net five times in the league and could add more to his name before the season concludes
Centre-back Wycliffe Omondi says he has never seen Shabana make it past the quarter finals of the Mozart Bet Cup competition, the country’s domestic cup, at least during the time he has played competitive football.
Having played the full ninety as coach Andrew Ongwae’s boys charged past Kuta Collection in Round 16 of the Cup, Omondi feels they are stepping into a new frontier that might just provide redemption seeing as how the league title seems distant now.
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Dispatching Kuta Collection 1-0 through a first half Brian Michira strike, Shabana make the quarter final in a competition that not only provides a national accolade at the end, but a chance to play continental football next season. Omondi is elated.
‘’Shabana has never made it to the quarters in the Mozzart Bet Cup and we have this time. As players we intend to go all the way to the final and lift it,’’ says the center-back.
Kuta Collection is the only amateur team that registered for this season’s tournament-and has in its ranks unattached premier league players.
They were definitely going to trouble Shabana and Omondi admits this.
‘’Most players from Kuta Collection have premier league experience and that’s why they gave us a good enough challenge,’’ he continues and his coach Ongwae doesn’t think any different.
Ongwae, an assistant coach currently serving as head coach for the last few premier league outings, knew what threat the so called underdogs usually pose in such cup competitions and came in with a strategy for the challengers.
‘’I’d like to first thank God for the result. As we were preparing for the match we knew it would not be easy because we have seen what the teams from the lower divisions have done to some top premier league teams in this competition.
So we went all out and wanted to kill off the tie as early as possible. We wanted more goals but the most important thing was to qualify for the next round and we have achieved that,’’ says Ongwae.
As with Cup competitions, it is a tradition for coaches to occasionally field fringe players who usually get very few minutes in the league matches and Ongwae, aware of the threat his opponents faced, threw in a few new names for the tie with former Luanda Villa centre-back Justus Munika prime among them.
Ongwae is pleased with their performances.
‘’We gave some players a chance in this match , three or four of them. Young players and we wanted to assess them and I am glad they played according to instructions,’’ he adds.
The Round of 16 cup victory comes just a day before the president of the Republic of Kenya William Ruto heads to Gusii Stadium to officially hand over the new team bus he purchased for Shabana.
With two friendly matches lined up on Sunday- Shabana playing Gucha Stars just after their ladies side Shabana Starlets have squared off with Lowland FC, coach Ongwae says the bus couldn’t have come at a better time.
‘’The new bus is the icing on the cake as it comes just after the win. We are happy about it,’’ he adds.