ACCC: Butali finish third after flooring Nigeria's Police Machine

Kenyan champions Butali Warriors have finished third in the Africa Cup for Club Champions tournament after beating Police Machine of Nigeria 3-2 in the playoff held at Sikh Union on Sunday 19th February.

The two teams had to battle in the playoff in order to determine which teams scoops after finishing second in their respective groups.

Ghanaian side Exchequers advanced to the final at the expense of Butali while Egypt's Sharkia sealed a place in the final ahead of Machine who finished second in pool B.

Butali had a dream start into the game as fan favourite Rana Suhail sounded the board from a short corner.

Police responded in the 37th minute through Sunday Orinya whose field goal saw him stretch his goal tally in the tournament to seven goals.

The visitors, scored the second goal in the 46th minute through Henry Jayeoba and for a moment, it felt like the remaining time on the clock was not enough for Butali to claw back given the dip in their performance.

ACCC: Exchequers beat Jaguars to set up final with Sharkia

However, there was still something remaining in their tanks as Calvins Kanu restored parity from a penalty corner in the 52nd minute.

Three minutes after levelling matters, Festus Onyango sealed it as his deflected effort went in much to the disappointment of Machine who had committed numbers in their area in a bid to contain the pressure.

The goal triggered protest from Machine players who felt that there was an infringement that would have warranted a foul in their favour. 

Their skipper Fowojabe Ojo would be sin binned in the remaining minutes for persistent dissent.

Butali skipper Constant Wakhura could not contain his joy as he termed the podium finish as a huge relief as watching visiting teams sweep all the medals on offer would have been a shame to the Kenyan teams.

"We have left everything on the pitch. We worked hard and never stopped believing even when we were a goal down," said the defender.

Butali team manager Kamal Sembi lauded his players for the effort put in and the medal delivered.

"The boys came out strongly. They knew what to do and I am.glad they did it. The tournament has been long and tough and I am happy we have taken something home. I am impressed with the fighting spirit of the boys," he said.

Sembi further, termed the bronze medal as a consolation as they had planned to clinch the top honour but fell short after emerging second in the group stage.

"It was our wish to win the tournament but we fell short. We had to do something today so as not to exit empty handed," he added.