South Mugirango’s Small Simba FC, who had trailed by one goal in the first half, made a comeback in the second half to beat Ichuni FC from Nyaribari Masaba 3-1 and claim the Safaricom Chapa Dimba Kisii County title held at Sameta Grounds in Kisii County.
During the first half, Ichuni surged ahead with a one-goal lead, courtesy of a penalty by Emmanuel Onuonga in the 11th minute after Elijah Kenyanya committed a foul in the box.
In the second half, Small Simba displayed a performance after Coach Wycliff Magero made two crucial substitutions. Omwoyo Elijah, who came off the bench, scored a goal in the first minute of the second half. Four minutes later, Rashid William extended his side’s lead with a shot after goalkeeper Brian Gwaro failed to clear the ball from inside the box. Alex Nyabwari sealed the victory with a strike in the 63rd minute, securing his team’s third goal to send Coach Lenny Kigen’s team home.
In the girl’s category, Kisii Queens secured a 1-0 win against Moteiribe Girls to qualify for the regional knockouts to be held in two weeks. The goal was scored by seventeen-year-old Christine Osebe in the 52nd minute of the game.
In Siaya County, Victoria Sports Academy were crowned the Safaricom Chapa Dimba County champions in the girls’ category after edging out Jera Girls from Ugenya 3-1. Victoria Sports Academy earned their victory courtesy of a hat trick from Leila Awuor in the 6th, 20th, and 79th minutes of the game, respectively. Leila has so far netted eight goals in total since the tournament kicked off in the Nyanza region. She earned the top striker award, taking home KES. 10,000.
Jera’s only goal was scored by Christine Achieng in the 65th minute. The match was played at the Siaya K.M.T.C Grounds.
Individual prizes included the top goalkeeper, top scorer (Boys & Girls), each taking home Ksh. 10,000, and Most Valuable Player (Boys & Girls), each taking home Ksh. 10,000 and a TVET Scholarship courtesy of Safaricom Foundation.
The county winners will now proceed to Inter-County matches to secure a slot in the regional finals.
The other Nyanza County finals (Homa Bay, Migori, Kisumu, and Nyamira) are scheduled to be played next weekend on the 16th and 17th before culminating in the intercounty playoffs.
Safaricom Chapa Dimba aims to provide a structured platform for scouts and coaches to tap into new talent and build feeder systems for the Kenyan football leagues across the country while also training a total of 250 coaches. The football tournament targets young people aged between 16 and 20 years old.