Sofapaka look past Sharks into Confed Cup dreamland

Such is the belief at Sofapaka FC that captain Mathias Kigonya is already looking past Kariobangi Sharks as they target a return to continental football after three years in the cold.

The Batoto ba Mungu secured their FKF -Shield final ticket on Sunday after edging AFC Leopards 1-0 at the Kasarani Stadium and now have one last obstacle to overcome on their way back to the CAF Confederation Cup.

Kigonya emphasised that their victory over the holders Leopards was testament to the quality in their side, suggesting Sharks could pose less of an opposition in the final where the winner will also walk away with Ksh2 million in prize money.

“Sharks is a good team but I don’t think it’s a better team than AFC Leopards so if we managed to overcome them I don’t think the final will be a very tough game.

“I think we deserve to play continental football and believing that is a huge motivation for us. If you look at the teams playing at that stage I can say we are the same level in terms of quality,’ Kigonya said.

The goalkeeper has been a consistent performer for the club over the last two years and was in his brilliant best against Leopards, pulling off a string of outstanding saves to deny the holders.

The Ugandan ended the match with a giant bump on the side of his forehead after colliding with defender Salim Abdalla as he dived to push out a corner as Sofapaka survived late pressure from Leopards who had an effort come off against the the foot of the post.

His head coach John Baraza will be eyeing a piece of history when Sofapaka line up against Sharks as he bids to win the Cup competition both as a player and as a tactician.

“Of course that’s a very big motivation to me because everyone wants to make history and this is the kind of history that somebody like me wants.”

And as history goes, Sharks head coach William Muluya will hope to be on the good side of it as he strives to avoid a second successive finals defeat having lost 2-0 to Leopards last year.

The Sharks have navigated arguably the toughest route to reach the final, edging a nervy shootout against Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions Gor Mahia FC in the quarter-finals before ousting Ulinzi Stars 4-1 in the semis.

“We have to work against history. Two years ago we were third-placed then we were runners-up last year so this time round the boys should just clinch it.

“We have to go back and look at what we can do better but the truth is there are many positives to look at.we’re scoring goals, and all-round the team cohesion is really great; everyone in the team is supporting each other.”

Only four points separate Sharks from Sofapaka in the KPL standings with the latter sitting fifth on 50 points and with Gor having already clinched the league crown, October 20 provides them a last chance for silverware this season.