Mozzart Bet Cup: BB Bread coach pinpoints costly lapse that denied them quarterfinal slot
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 21.04.26. | 08:53
A fifth-tier team that had the misfortune of drawing a high-flying AFC Leopards in just the Round of 64, the dream seemed to be over before it even began, or so many thought
Every year, the Mozzart Bet Cup offers a chance for little-known clubs to make their mark on the national stage.
Some of the clubs arrive at the big stage with sky-high dreams and desperate to prove that they have what it takes to upset the big boys.
The 2026 edition's surprise package was, without a doubt, BB Bread FC.
A fifth-tier team that had the misfortune of drawing a high-flying AFC Leopards in just the Round of 64, the dream seemed to be over before it even began, or so many thought.
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Leopards, previous Cup winners, casually went into the tie intending to ‘get it over with’ quickly.
The minnows from Kayole had other ideas.
The scores stood at 2-2 at the end of ninety minutes, with the Leopards panting furiously, unable to comprehend that they would have to settle the contest from the spot.
Luck favours the brave, and BB Bread had been the braver one that evening.
AFC Leopards, in just the first round, were felled 4-3 on penalties, and suddenly everyone took notice of their little-known challengers.
As fate would have it, coach Ajastine Okoba’s inspired boys drew Gor Mahia in the second round. From Leopards to Gor, fate too has a sense of humour.
Perhaps the record Kenyan champions should have learned from their bitter rivals, Leopards, but pride does make one blind.
With them, BB Bread didn’t even take it to penalties. A single goal in ninety, and it was done. Another giant bit the dust.
Even the most fantastic of dreams do end, and for BB bread, it had to take a disciplined Kenya Police side in the Round of 16 to dispatch the youthful side.
A single lapse in concentration in the opening exchanges had Eric Zakayo settle the contest. However hard the youngsters pounded on the Police gates, they never relented. Coach Okoba is still a proud man.
‘’We have had a good game. When you play top teams, it only takes one moment of lapse in concentration, and you concede. That’s what happened,’’ says the coach.
Gradually finding their form under new coach Nicholas Muyoti, the 2024 Mozzart Bet cup winners, Police, have had a steady spell in the league, and that was apparent as they translated this form to the cup.
Okoba knew too well and believed he had prepped his boys for just this task.
‘’If you look at Police in their last couple of games in the Premier League, they are the ones with the best defence, and it’s not by luck that they do. We had a good plan in the second half to counter this, but it didn’t work out,’’ Okoba continues.
BB Bread went out, but bravely so.
Three matches, all against the top three clubs in the country presently.
Fate really tested them to their limits on this one, and if their limit is being knocked out by the defending Kenyan Premier League champions by a solitary goal, coach Okoba’s boys should hold their heads up high as they go back to their league.
‘’We are obviously going back to focus on our league, as for Mozzart Bet Cup we will hopefully get a chance to contest again next year,’’ he concludes.
The Kayole-based side will be missed, in cup conversations at least, but they have made their mark, and even though a year is long enough in waiting to see them again, the three displays they have given will keep fans company until next year.