Bandari upbeat: Dockers keen to extend fine form as they host Posta Rangers

Finishing second in the Kenyan Premier League last year must have given Bandari the belief that they could challenge for the this year and that has turned out to be the case.

The dockers sit pretty in second spot with 15 points from seven matches and could move top this afternoon with victory over Posta Rangers at the Mbaraki Sports Club. Top scorer William Wadri is expected to lead the attack against a Posta side that sit in the bottom three and have seen their players struggle to live up to their big name reputations for the last three years leading to the departure of coach Sammy Omollo, who has since been replaced by John Kamau.

The national under 20 coach started his tenure on a decent note, sharing the spoils with Sofapaka last weekend. The trip to Mombasa will provide a good opportunity for the former Thika United coach to show he is the right man to turn Posta from also-runs to real title contenders. Today’s match will be the last for Bandari before they travel to Tanzania for the SportPesa Super Cup. AFC Leopards, the other Kenyan representative, have already left the country for Dar Es Salaam leaving the determination of their contest against Chemelil Sugar that was supposed to also be played today in the hands of the league managers.

Zoo Kericho, who have once again endured a slow start to the campaign and find themselves being marked out as a candidate for relegation, have the opportunity to make nonsense of those predictions when they host a Kariobangi Sharks side who are on the opposite end of the spectrum. Sharks in their third season in the topflight have earned the right to be placed among the contenders thanks to their triumph in the Shield last season and the Super Cup victory over Gor Mahia. They will be expected to take all three points in such outings if they are to sustain a title challenge.