M. KisengeMESHACK KISENGE: My 2022-23 FKFPL Team of the Season
Reading Time: 5min | Mon. 26.06.23. | 08:12
Kenya Police forward Elvis Rupia is my MVP for the season
The 2022-2023 Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) concluded on Sunday 25 June with Gor Mahia bagging the league title.
I salute all the players who featured in the top flight with their respective clubs. See you in the 2023-2024 season.
Here is my team of the season.
Bryne Omondi (KCB)
A modern-day goalkeeper who possesses excellent ball distribution and ball gathering skills.
Omondi has come of age and settled well at KCB unlike in his previous work stations where he struggled for game time.
He has shown maturity in commanding his territory and it did not come as a shock to me when he was recalled to the national team, Harambee Stars.
Daniel Sakari (Tusker)
It wasn’t a tough pick for me as the Tusker man has been exceptional in the season.
Sakari is good in defending 1v1 situations, inverting, crossing and is comfortable in using either feet.
At some point in the season, he was called upon to plug in the gap left by his injured colleagues who play as left backs.
He never seemed out of place or appeared to struggle whenever played out of position. He is also a throw-in specialist.
Geoffrey Ochieng (Gor Mahia)
You may struggle to recall a game in which a winger turned Ochieng inside out or outpaced him and successfully whipped in a cross.
His solidity is the reason as to why Gor fans have nicknamed him Simiti (cement). Gurus will tell you cement is known as saruji in Kiswahili dialect.
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For a player who missed eight months in the 2021-2022 season due to a knee surgery that necessitated a surgery his revival after the long layoff has been nothing but successful.
He wore the armband in the absence of first captain Philemon Otieno by virtue of his seniority in the team
Dennis Ng’ang’a (Gor Mahia)
Ng’ang’a is my candidate for the defender of the season award given his performances at the heart of the Gor Mahia defence.
Out of the seven left-footed central defenders in the league, he is the most versatile.
Ng’ang’a is arguably the best ball playing centre back in the league. His vision, passing accuracy, precision when tackling and taking freekicks comes second to none.
He has handled his transition from a full back left to a centre back well. If the end of season awards could have taken place, I would not have been surprised to see his name shortlisted for the MVP award.
I liked the passion in which he sang the Gor anthem during league matches.
Maurice Ojwang (KCB)
He is not the tallest centre back in the league but beating him in the air has always been close to impossibility.
Ojwang, who can play as a RCB and LCB comfortably, anchored the KCB defence that leaked the fewest goals in the season.
A hard tackler and a leader on the pitch.
He finished the season with four goals and also, returned to the national team after years in the cold.
Humphrey Mieno (Tusker)
Let’s pause for a moment, sit down and watch that video clip of Mieno schooling Bandari forward Johana Mwita.
The clip was shot when Tusker beat Bandari 1-0 at Ruaraka grounds on March 8.
The skill depicted in the short clip epitomizes his football talent that has been on display for more than a decade.
You have to marvel at the ease in which he insulates the defence, dictates play and makes those defence-splitting passes.
Upcoming midfielders who intend to flourish in the Kenyan league should have a sit down with Mieno and tap some lessons.
John Otieno Owira (Bidco United)
This is a player whose performances have been flying under the radar throughout the season.
Owira is simply one of the unsung heroes in the league.
It is unfortunate that we do not have the capacity to determine the passing accuracy per player in the league and local football as a whole. If we had in the FKF PL, I bet Owira would have emerged the best.
He is good in whipping long and short passes accurately and further possess the ability to progress the ball forward. It shouldn’t be lost on us that he had a stint in Sweden with Dalhem IF.
Joseph Mwangi (Nzoia Sugar)
The best scoring midfielder in the concluded season as the 26-year old managed to score 14 goals and recorded seven assists. He was also the highest scoring player at Nzoia who had their best season since returning to the top flight in 2016.
His career has been on an upward trajectory since joining the table of men in 2020 from Griffon FC.
A creative midfielder whose numbers and consistency procured him his maiden Harambee Stars call up in March and his second in June.
He managed six goals and three assists in the 2021-2022 season which was later annulled by the federation.
Abdallah Hassan (Bandari)
The Bandari second assistant captain has been the most consistent player at the club in despite the dockers punching below their weight.
He managed to find the back of the net 13 times in the concluded season, the most by a winger in the term.
Hassan was a thorn in the flesh of full backs and did well in bailing the defence out whenever they ran into trouble.
Tyson Otieno (Kariobangi Sharks)
The 2022-2023 season was the best for Otieno since debuting in the top flight 2017 as he finished the campaign with nine goals.
His transformation since signing for Sharks before the season began has been seen there for all to see as his game has shot to a new and high level.
It didn’t come as a surprise to me when bumped into posts and comments on social media questioning his omission from the national team in the past two international windows.
He no longer loses possession easily and helps in defending, traits he rarely displayed in his previous work stations.
Besides scoring, Otieno has been outstanding in as far as creating scoring chances is concerned. He is arguably the best dribbler in the league.
Elvis Rupia (Kenya Police)
His numbers speak loudly of his goal scoring instincts. Scoring 27 goals in 20 matches is not an ordinary achievement.
He has been the most consistent striker in the league in recent years.
He must be a happy man after ending the long wait for the ‘Golden Boot’ after coming close in 2018 and 2021 seasons where he finished as first runner up.
Clearly, Police have reaped returns for investing in Rupia who joined the club in February 2022 from AFC Leopards.
Rupia is my 2022-2023 Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Substitutes
Brian Bwire (Tusker)
Kennedy Owino (Posta Rangers)
Ian Omondi (FC Talanta)
Musa Oundo(AFC Leopards)
Kelvin Etemesi (Nairobi City Stars)
Duke Abuya (Kenya Police)
Austin Odhiambo (Gor Mahia)
Benson Omala (Gor Mahia)
Hillary Juma (Kakamega Homeboyz)
