Nine-man Kuwinda 1 reach Khalif Cup semis

Kuwinda 1 booked a slot in the semi-finals of the Abbas Khalif Super Cup after beating tournament favourites Basel 2-1 at the Nairobi West Prison Grounds.

The Karen-based side overcame a chaotic Thursday afternoon that nearly ended their tournament dream. Highrise-based Basel were buoyed by home support, but left ruing missed opportunities and a late defensive lapse. 

Kuwinda 1 opened the scoring, but their joy was short-lived. The goalscorer was booked during the goal celebration and five minutes later, he got a second yellow for a reckless challenge.

Basel immediately capitalised on the ensuing free kick and send their supporters into rapturous celebration when they equalised.

In the heat of Basel’s celebrations, tempers flared again as a second Kuwinda 1 player was shown a straight red card for punching an opponent.

Reduced to nine men before halftime, they were destined for elimination. Basel, spurred on by the home crowd and holding a two-man advantage, poured forward relentlessly but despite their numerical supremacy, they failed to find a breakthrough, repeatedly frustrated by Kuwinda 1’s resolute defending.

With the game edging towards full-time and extra time looming, tournament top scorer John Wambua wrote the afternoon’s final script.

Against all expectations, he pounced on a loose ball inside the box and bundled home the winning goal, sparking wild celebrations from the Kuwinda bench.