- Harambee Stars captain Abud Omar was red carded in the for dissent.
- Zanzibar are expected to play group leaders Burkina Faso in the final that is slated for January 13.
- The winners of the 2025 Mapinduzi Cup will receive Ksh 6.25 million in prize money.
Harambee Stars suffered a painful 1-0 defeat in the hands of Zanzibar in a heated Mapinduzi Cup group match that was played on Friday night at the Gombani Stadium.
Harambee Stars interim head coach Francis Kimanzi made a lot of changes in his starting eleven from the one that started against Tanzania, with only Alphonce Omija, Sylvester Owino, Austine Odhiambo, and Chrispine Erambo retaining their positions.
He completely overhauled the backline with Faruk Shikalo replacing Byrne Omondi between the sticks.
In addition, the trio of Siraj Mohammed, Ronney Onyango and Michael Mutinda started the match at the expense of the likes of the current captain Abud Omar, Daniel Sakari and Brian Musa, who did a good job in the 2-0 win over the Kilimanjaro Stars.
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Kimanzi also decided to go with attacking duo of Moses Shumah and James Kinyanjui with Ryan Ogam and Darius Msagha warming the bench.
The game started on a high with the hosts making it hard for Harambee Stars to get control of the proceedings.
Both sides had half goal scoring opportunities in the first half hour of the game but they did not make it count.
With a few minutes remaining to the half time, a scuffle ensued between the players from both sides with Gor Mahia ace Odhiambo and Zanzibar’s Feisal Salum being at the heart of it.
The referee had to halt the game, summon the two players, before allowing the hotly contested fixture to continue.
The two teams returned from the break with the same energy, with the hosts having a couple of chances that failed to materialize.
Abud Omar Red Carded
The match was temporarily stopped for the second time in the 68th minute when the center referee showed Harambee Stars second half substitute Omar a red card for dissent.
The card came after the Kenyan captain protested an unfair free kick that was awarded to Zanzibar. He was first shown a yellow card before being sent to an early shower as he continued to express himself.
After Omar’s red card, Kimanzi brought in Daniel Sakari in place of James Kinyanjui in a bid to stop Zanzibar from taking the lead.
The move helped Harambee Stars to hold on until the end of the regulation time. However, they found themselves trailing 1-0 in the 90+3 minute.
The goal which came from a corner did not dampen their spirits as they continued to work hard in search of the elusive equalizer.
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The increased pressure led to Zanzibar’s Ibrahim Ame to be shown a red card in the 90+9 minutes after he made a dangerous tackle on a Harambee Stars player.
Nevertheless, Zanzibar were able to protect their slim lead and collected the three points that were on offer.
The three points helped them to climb to the second position in the table with six points, two more than Harambee Stars.
Zanzibar will now play group leaders Burkina Faso in the final that is scheduled to be played on Monday, January 13 with Kenya playing Tanzania in the third place decider.
How Harambee Stars lined up for the match
Faruk Shikalo, Siraj Mohammed, Ronney Onyango, Alphonce Omija, Sylvester Owino, Michael Mutinda, Chrispine Erambo, Mohammed Bajaber, Austine Odhiambo, Moses Shumah, James Kinyanjui