At the end of the season, Batoto ba Mungu found themselves sitting in 16th position, a place above the automatic two relegation spots. They had managed 36 points from 34 matches accumulated from nine wins, nine draws and 16 defeats.
Below them was Muhoroni Youth and Nzoia Sugar, who were automatically relegated while Sofapaka had to play National Super League (NSL) outfit Naivas FC in a relegation/promotion playoff battle to decide their fate in the league.
During the two-legged playoff fixture, Sofapaka under interim coach Ezekiel Akwana, and who had earned promotion to the Kenyan Premier League in 2009, a season they went ahead to win the league title on their debut, defeated Naivas 2-0 on aggregate to confirm their stay in the top-flight.
This season, Sofapaka have experienced a remarkable turnaround, a great improvement from the previous campaign. With 15 matches played so far, Batoto ba Mungu under veteran coach Robert Matano, are currently placed seventh in the table with 21 points.
Sofapaka have five wins, six draws and suffered four defeats, to stay six points behind table leaders KCB, who have garnered 27 points from seven wins, six draws and two defeats.
They kicked off the season with a 1-0 defeat against Tusker, lost 1-0 against FC Talanta, drew 1-1 against promoted side Mathare United, lost 1-0 against Bandari, drew 1-1 against Nairobi City Stars and beat Shabana 1-0 in their sixth fixture of the season.
After beating Tore Bobe, they continued their upward surge with a 2-0 win against Kakamega Homeboyz, drew 1-1 against Kenya Police, drew 1-1 against Mara Sugar, suffered a 1-0 defeat against Murang’a Seal, beat Kariobangi Sharks 1-0 before mauling Ulinzi Stars 4-1.
Their next fixture ended in a 0-0 draw against KCB, drew 1-1 against AFC Leopards in the ‘Cats derby’ before pipping Bidco United 2-0. The impressive run has seen them score 16 goals and concede 11. Only Bandari and Police have conceded fewer goals than Sofapaka, seven and nine respectively.
Sofapaka squad determined to play and get results
According to Sofapaka President Elly Kalekwa, the team’s turnaround can be attributed to the calibre of players in their ranks. Kalekwa believes the current squad is playing with determination and giving more than 100% to achieve better results.
“Unlike last season, we now have a squad of players, who are determined to play and get the results, and from the look of things, we are already having a great season but we want to do even better from the New Year,” Kalekwa told Flashscore.
“When you look at the players we have, they want to fight for everything, their passion, the dedication and desire to win is something we lacked last season, we did not have a group of players, who wanted to play for the badge and it is the reason at one point I was forced to release a number of them.
“Even in training sessions, you can see the players fighting for every ball, they want to achieve something, they feel bad if they don’t get a positive result, it is something we did not have last season, and at one point I couldn’t imagine Sofapaka going down, it was one of my worst seasons since Sofapaka got promoted to the top-flight league.”
Kalekwa further praised the presence of coach Robert Matano, whom he credited for the team’s resurgence in the league. Matano moved to Sofapaka from Tusker at the start of the season.
“We have a veteran coach, who is doing a great job, Matano has instilled discipline in the team and we can see what he has already achieved since he took charge,” explained Kalekwa.
“He came in a few weeks before we started the season and you can imagine we are getting positive results already, I feel as he continues to be with the team, the results are going to improve further, he is one coach I respect a lot and I feel good to have him around.”
When he appointed Matano, Kalekwa told Flashscore in a previous interview why he was the right man to revive the club’s dwindling fortunes.
“He is the right man for the job and we are confident he will help us get out of the situation we found ourselves in during the previous season,” Kalekwa told Flashscore. “He is a fighter, a coach, who wants to win in every game, a coach who gets mad when he loses a game, so we went for his services knowing he will help us regain our status.”
Kalekwa continued: “Immediately I saw he had left Tusker, I gave him a call, he responded positively and here now he is back home. He wanted to come back, and I knew one day he would return.
Apart from winning the league title, Sofapaka have clinched the Kenya Super Cup (twice), President’s Cup (three times), Mashujaa Cup (once), Shield Cup (twice) and Jamhuri Cup (once).
They featured in the CAF Champions League in 2010 but failed to go past the preliminary round, and made three appearances in the Confederation Cup – 2008 when they got disqualified, 2010 when they reached the playoffs and 2015 when they reached the preliminary round.
Sofapaka’s next five matches will see them come up against champions Gor Mahia on Saturday, January 11th, Shabana on Wednesday, January 15th, against Kenya Police on January 18th, against Bandari on February 1st and against KCB on February 8th.
