David Okoth's 10th minute strike was enough to hand Kenya Police a fifth win in six matches under Salim Babu's reign at Shabana's expense.
In a game that was marred by a series of fouls that prevented it from finding rhythm, Kenya Police inflicted more misery on Shabana FC, beating them 1-0 in an FKFPL encounter played at the Police Sacco grounds to keep their slim hopes alive.
Kenya Police got off to a flier when they opened the scoring through David Okoth who was set up well by Kenneth Muguna in the 11th minute to silence the handful of Shabana fans that had flocked the match venue.
Baraka Badi had picked up the ball from deep before passing it to Muguna, right in front of him, before he cut it back for the former Kakamega Homeboyz man to finish it first-time.
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There was a momentary throwing of flares in the 27th minute when Police goalkeeper Patrick Matasi appeared to be fouled by Shabana’s Mathew Tegisi which promoted the custodian into acting out, pretending he had been infringed.
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Babu opted to make a change at the break, subbing off Samuel Onyango for Alvin Mang’eni at the beginning of the second half in efforts to add more pace into the game.
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Shabana did, however, get their first chance of the game when Justine Omwando attempted a shot from outside the box that went just wide of Matasi’s net.
The Glamour Boys continued to pile more pressure onto the side and tried to shoot from distance in certain situations but to no avail.
That would remain the case until in the 70th minute, when Alvin Mang’eni attempted a shot from outside the box that went wide of Fredrick Otinda’s goal.
Okoth nearly scored a second, also managing a shot from outside the box, but his attempt would sail way off target.
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That would remain the case until in the 70th minute, when Mang’eni attempted a shot from outside the box that went wide of Fredrick Otinda’s goal.
Okoth nearly scored a second, also attempting a shot from outside the box, but his attempt would sail way off target.
The referee opted to add a sensational 13 minutes due to the time wasting antics Matasi had deployed in the first half.
This nearly cost Police, as Shabana created arguably the clearest of opportunities throughout the game to equalise but fluffed their lines.
Substitute Enock Agwanda received the ball and found himself through on goal, before opting to pass the ball across goal diagonally to Brian Michina on the other side, but the speedy striker could not find the back of the net, much to the disbelief of the spectators.
Another goal never seemed to be on the cards, and in the end, Police would have enough to hold on to their lead and get all the three points.
The result now means that Police are third on 37 points, 10 behind Gor Mahia, while Shabana remain languishing perilously close to relegation on 18 points after 22 games.