Kiongera saves 10-men Leopards’ skins in pulsating Ulinzi draw

Ten-man AFC Leopards twice came from behind to hold Ulinzi Stars to a 2-2 draw in a pulsating Kenyan Premier League (KPL) match played at Nakuru’s Afraha Stadium on Friday.

Ulinzi took an eighth minute lead when midfielder Daniel Waweru turned in Samuel Onyango’s cross but were pegged back two minutes before the break by Kepha Aswani for 1-1.

The soldiers struck moments later when Waweru notched his brace from the spot when he was bundled to the ground by defender Jackson Saleh with Allan Kateregga sent off with a straight red in the second half.

Paul Mungai Kiongera popped up with the equalizer late on to snatch a vital point for Ezekiel Akwana’s men and to atone for an awful afternoon that saw him spurn a number of goal-scoring chances.

Ulinzi’s stand in coach, Benjamin Nyangweso, opted to bench club top scorer, John Makwatta but gave the forward a run out in the second half as his side sought to press the advantage.

John Kago released Onyango down the left flank, who in turn beat his marker with his pace before crossing in for Waweru to guide home the opener from close range to cap a fast-paced start from the soldiers who were eager to impress on Kenya Defence Forces Day.

Winger Brian Birgen almost doubled the lead at the half hour mark, sending a fierce shot on goal which was blocked. The rebound fell back to his feet but he blasted wide.

Sturdy defending from centre half Geoffrey Kokoyo denied Kiongera from levelling matters in the 38^th by getting in the way of his effort after a low cross from Simon Abuko.

Akwana’s men finally found a way past custodian James Saruni as Aswani prodded home on the rebound after Abuko sent a headed effort crashing off the woodwork.

Their celebrations were short-lived as the referee awarded the hosts a penalty two minutes later, with Waweru stepping up to send Indeche the wrong way to give his side the edge heading into the break.

Makwatta came on for Samuel Onyango three minutes after the restart and his impact was instantly felt after he forced Indeche to a diving save just two minutes later with a curling shot.

In the 56th minute, Kiongera scuffed his shot wide after dribbling past two defenders. Ezekiel Akwana’s charges suffered a major setback when Kateregga was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Brian Birgen four minutes later.

With all odds stacked against his side, Kiongera popped up with the equaliser in the 84th minute.

The former Gor Mahia and Simba SC forward got the better of Churchill Muloma with a clean piece of skill before firing a shot that embarrassed Saruni after the Ulinzi captain let the ball slip through his gloves and into the net in a goal keeping howler.

The result left Ulinzi, the 2010 champions on 38 points, ten adrift of leaders Tusker FC with four games of the season left effectively ending the slim chances they had on reclaiming the KPL crown.

Leopards who are yet to win under interim boss, Ezekiel Akwana, remain 12th on 30 after forcing s share of the spoils.