Plucky Mathare United pick up first KPL win of season
KCB’s Disemba Kisaka in action against Mathare United during the FKF Premier League clash at the Kasarani Annex on September 26, 2025.
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A stunning free kick from Elli Asieche just before halftime was enough to hand Mathare United their first win of the new Kenyan Premier League season, edging KCB 1-0 in a rain-soaked clash at the Kasarani Annex on Friday afternoon.
Mathare bounced back from a 2-1 defeat against Posta Rangers in their 2025/2026 season opener last Monday but on the flip side, the loss slowed down KCB’s momentum after a 2-1 victory against Tusker last Friday.
The tie started cautiously, with both sides struggling to carve out clear-cut chances in the opening stages.
KCB had the game’s first real attempt in the 24th minute when Jack Okello latched onto a loose ball outside the area and let fly, but his effort went just wide.
Mathare found the breakthrough just before halftime when Asieche curled home a sublime free kick two minutes before the interval to give the Slum Boys a 1-0 lead.
Heavy rain marked the start of the second half, making the pitch difficult to navigate.
KCB almost drew level when Kevin Ouru produced a stunning one-handed save, pushing the ball onto the woodwork to deny the Bankers.
The visitors dominated much of the early exchanges after the restart, with substitute Okoth nearly leveling after glancing a header narrowly wide from another Asieche corner.
Play was briefly halted following a collision in the box, but Mathare held firm to secure the narrow win despite KCB’s late push.
Speaking after the match, KCB head coach Robert Matano said: “It was a tough match in difficult conditions, but we have to move on quickly. Our focus now is on Sharks, and we must prepare well to bounce back.”
Meanwhile, Gor Mahia head coach Charles Akonnor has backed the former champions to get their season back on track following a surprise 1-0 defeat to Bidco United in the opening KPL match.
The Ghanaian coach said the defeat was a wakeup call and that they will right their wrongs when they face Sofapaka Saturday from 4pm at Dandora Stadium in Nairobi.
“It was a wake-up call for us in our first match when we lost, but honestly I don't have anything to blame for the boys. They did what we asked them to do. It's just that we couldn't score.
“We tried as much as we can, we couldn't score. So we've continued with the preparation from last week and we want to improve from what we did the last time. And so we've worked a little bit on our final third goal-scoring opportunities and so it has gone very well.”
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