Siwa unpacks Bandari’s main weapon in pursuit of Mozzart Bet Cup glory

Bandari FC may only linger mid-table in the ongoing 2025/26 FKF Premier League table standings, one in which arch rivals AFC Leopards and record champions Gor Mahia have made a two-horse race thus far.

A highly competitive season that has seen giants mercilessly slain, and underdogs dare to dream, this season offers little for the Dockers in the way of silverware, but there’s some hope; the Mozzart Bet Cup.

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The Round of 16 had Bandari travel to Kirinyaga to meet, head-on, a formidable tier two side, 3K FC, at the Wang’uru Stadium.

The domestic cup itself has had its fair share of drama so far; it’s here after all that even non-league teams get a chance to upset the order of things.

Leopards, Gor, and, more recently, Murang’a Seal have all been knocked out by teams in the lower tier.

Bandari then knew better not to take any chances with 3K at Wang’uru.

A first-half double from Clifford Ouma and Joseph Otieno ensured a comfortable 2-0 victory over 3K.

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Goalkeeper’s coach Razak Siwa says they understood the stakes at hand.

‘’We thank God for getting us here safely from Mombasa to Kirinyaga. We thank him for the win, knock-out matches are never easy and our opponents on the day are not too bad a team despite being one tier below us. They play with discipline, but we banked on our experience and physicality to get the results,’’ says Siwa.

Bandari, though perennially missing out on the league title despite being one of the best funded teams in the country, are no strangers to the domestic cup title.

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In fact, in the past decade, they’ve bagged it twice.

First in 2015, dispatching Gor Mahia and then five years later, when they dethroned Kariobangi Sharks 3-1.

Current coach Bernard Mwalala was at the helm, responsible for this feat. Siwa notes the coincidence and feels they can go all the way.

‘’We’ve won this cup before, actually, with coach Benard Mwalala as head coach, and we are going to try and reclaim that lost glory. It’s not going to be easy, of course, but we will bank on God’s strength to sail through all the way,’’ he adds.

A side that did make it into the second rounds of both CAF Confederation Cup qualifications, the prospect of ‘returning to Africa’ surely does spur something in the players, especially the long-serving ones that were in the team.

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The unit has, over time, changed considerably, with many young players promoted from their youth team.

Bandari were knocked out in the 2016 edition of the CAF Confederation Cup after a disappointing home draw against St Eloi Lupopo.

Five years later, it would be Guinea’s Horoya to dump them out after dispatching Mwalala’s men 1-0 at Kasarani.

They would obviously want to change this, but first, the Mozzart Bet Cup title.

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After the Round of 16 of the cup, the leagues resume, and up next for the Dockers is a title-chasing Gor Mahia.

The hunt for the title may be over for Bandari, but there is the small matter of finishing the season amongst their peers, Siwa says.

‘’We take on Gor Mahia next in the league, that’s a marathon, but with the Mozzart Bet Cup it's a knockout, when you lose you’re out. We want to finish in a respectable position on the log, so we will give everything we have,’’ he concludes.

The Dockers lie 8th on the log on 38 points, a massive 19 points below their Sunday 19th opponents, Gor Mahia.