Bidco United relegated after narrow defeat to Shabana

Bidco United's six-year stay in the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League is over, this after their relegation from the top tier was confirmed in a painful 1-0 defeat to Shabana at Wang'uru Stadium on Sunday, 17 May.

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Hosts Bidco, who gained promotion to the Premier League in the 2019-2020 National Super League (NSL) season, needed to stay perfect through their last three games of the campaign to stand a chance of survival, but ultimately ended up on the losing side for a second successive game, ending their brief, but memorable time in the division.

The Thika-based side were on course to getting the desired victory until the last 10 minutes of the game on Sunday, when the tables turned on them after defender Stephen Okola was adjudged to have fouled Shabana striker Assis Mambote Batshi inside the box in the 81st minute.

The Congolese striker would make no mistake from the spot, leaving Anthony Akhulia's side with the hard reality of kick-starting life in the second tier next season, this despite having two more games to play in the Premier League this season.

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The defeat for Bidco now means they become the second of three teams to suffer the drop, joining former champions Sofapaka, who were relegated on Saturday, 2 May.

As for Shabana, their first win in May took them above Nairobi United into fourth position with 51 points.

Match Report

For the second time in two seasons, it quicky became apparent that Bidco United were up against it to stay in the league. Bar a bright start to the campaign, which saw them win back-to-back games against Gor Mahia and Nairobi United, the rest of the season was more like the 2024-2025 season, but with a bitter ending this time.

Presented with the task of winning out their three remaining fixtures, Bidco still showed up like their real selves - a team that was on a run of one win in 26 matches - as they labored to create much, the only piece of danger in the early proceedings being a Herman Ngala shot from a tight angle in the 15th minute, which was well covered by this season's golden glove winner Stephen Ochieng.

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Just seconds before that, The Oilers had breathed a huge sigh of relief, after seeing Humphrey Obinna's freekick from just outside the box fly over the bar.

In the 35th minute, another real escape was on for the hosts, following a disallowed goal from Danson Kiprono, who was flagged offside on his way to a ball from Ezekiah Omuri.

Things slowed down in the second half, but it was still Shabana who were looking likely to change the scoreline. Eight minutes after the hour, fresh substitute Mambote found Derrick Oketch with a delightful cross from the left, only for the latter to drop his right-footed shot wide.

The second time a similar inviting cross came into the Bidco box, Okola opted to stand in the way, catching the recipient - Mambote - by the neck as he attempted a header, to concede a gut-wrenching penalty.

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The lanky striker would minutes later slam a ball to the bottom right and past Issa Emuria, ushering in the inevitable.

It took Bidco a final day victory over Sofapaka to stay alive last season. Not to be this time, as their horrid run was punished. Cue silence on the team bench.