SOFAPAKA NEED TO GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER



In recent years, Kenyan Football has been on a rennaicance of sorts and in the thick of the resurgence of the game from the unrelenting murks and bogs of corruption, was Sofapaka F.C.

Birthed in 2002 as a men's team for a fellowship, Sofapaka  proceeded to the nationwide league ( Kenya's second tier football league) in 2004 under the stewardship of current chairman Elly Kalekwa. Their penchant for upsetting odds continued as five years later, Sofapaka found themselves in the Kenya Premier League and boy,did they announce their grand entry or what! In their maiden voyage, the Sofapaka ship set on sail and rattled, erased and rewrote the history books by becoming the first team to claim the KPL title in their first try.

From there on however, the odyssey has been topsy turvy, but their exploits in CAF Confedarationd cup in 2011, one that saw them overcome Egyptian powerhouse Zamalek(in the process breaking Kenyan team's jinx against North African opposition) and steamroll all the way into the play-off put them in their own place in the records of Kenyan football of recent times. Those heights have never been reached, neither have they come close to being reciprocated yet the 5-0 whitewash in the hands of Tusker f.c was a new low for the once illustrious epitome of good management, belief and fortitude.

In their current form (which even bad is too good to quantify), finishing above fifth will be more than a miracle. Infact, it will be a travesty of the hardwork that other teams are putting in, which Sofapaka blatantly didn't put against Tusker. The two penalties they missed just bespoke the disquiet in Sofapaka camp. That the legendary and evergreen John Barasa would be the man to fire the blank in one of the spot kicks killed all hopes and Ezekiel Odera came and buried them by missing the second.

For some time now, the tides have buffetted Sofapaka seriously and never had it been more in-your-face than over the weekend when Tusker made light work of their (Sofapaka's) status and bookmarks in history. Simply put, Sofapaka were outfoxed, outfought and outdone. They were taken in rounds then left inebriated, left on their own to stagger and stumble home in total darkness, with only their hope for a better future illuminating the way.

This loss put their total losses this season, after 19 games, to four, one short of the total losses last season (after 30 games). This season, they have let in 24 goals, three less than the total last season. Last season they scored 49 goals. This season, with 11games to spare the have 24, and their psyche, or total lack of, shows that unless attitude changes in the Batoto Ba Mungu camp, even hitting 40 goals will be more a result of fate clumsily stumbling about than of the team's and their coach's deliberate effort. Every good record from last season risks being left seated upon its anus come the end of the season.


Coach, Sam Timbe, a reputable coach in the region, must have been so ashamed of the defeat that he couldn't resist the urge to resort to folly excuses and pseudo-reasons. 
Losing players should never be a reason.  Gor Mahia, so far unbeaten this season, lost their top scorer for two years running, Dan Sserunkuma yet still score plenty and win plenty as if its their middle name.  Its hard being a professional sportsperson, I get it, but the weekends no-show from Sofapaka was discouraging.

Sofapaka is a storied team whose legacy shouldn't die.
They should carry on with their scabbed wounds and march with them forward until the storm subsides. Losing 5-0 is disappointing but losing 5-0 following such a dispirited and detached effort could portend tougher storms for Sofapaka to weather in coming weeks, months and, God forbid, seasons. So they should take it in their strides and march forward while showing some resilience.
 
Photo:courtesy Standard

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