Apart from the Football Kenya Federation Premier League title race, the Golden Boot contest was another fierce battle experienced in the just concluded season.

The Golden Boot race was between Gor Mahia’s Benson Omala and Kenya Police’s Elvis Rupia, but it was the latter who emerged as the winner after scoring 27 goals.

Despite his stellar form in front of goal, Rupia could not break a Premier League record that has stood for 40 years. Charles Odero, then playing for Scarlet FC, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season, a record registered in 1983 when he found the back of the net 28 times.

Outstanding Odero

Scarlet, now defunct, enjoyed one of the best attacking lines with Odero, Jack Sihul, and Ambrose Ayoyi. The trio managed to score 175 goals between them during that era. Odero scored 100 goals, Sihul had 85, and Ayoyi 66 for Scarlets, who were based in Nakuru in the 1980s.

Odero’s record was almost broken as Rupia and Omala engaged in a tight contest. Omala led the Golden Boot race for a very long time, but Rupia kept scoring, closed in on the former Kisumu Day striker, and eventually overtook him.

Rupia rose to the summit of the top scorers’ chart after scoring twice in Police’s penultimate match against Vihiga Bullets. On the final day, he scored a goal to eventually emerge as the winner with 27 overall goals.

On the other hand, Omala scored once on the final day to take his tally to 26 for the season. Although he was beaten to the award, this has been a far better season for him given the number of times he found the back of the net for the champions.

Golden Glove race

This was another race that attracted stiff competition, and the winner was decided on the final matchday.

Gor Mahia’s goalkeeper Gad Mathews and Nzoia Sugar’s counterpart, Humphrey Katasi, jointly won the Premier League’s Golden Glove for the season.

Katasi had one clean sheet less than Mathews, but a 0-0 draw between the Sugar Millers and Sofapaka in the last match of the season meant that the Nzoia’s custodian caught up with the Gor Mahia’s goalkeeper.

Before the games on Sunday, Mathews had kept 17 clean sheets and Katasi had 16, but Gor Mahia conceded in their game against Nairobi City Stars, thus denying Mathews a chance to be the sole winner of the Golden Glove.

Mathews has been a key figure in Gor Mahia’s set-up and played the majority of the games, with the local giants going on to claim a record 20th Premier League title.

He is one of the most senior and experienced stars on the Gor Mahia team, and his Golden Glove achievement is a testament to the crucial role he played throughout the season.

With Gor Mahia destined to play in the CAF Champions League again, Mathews will be under more spotlight as fans will be keen on how he will perform on the continental stage.

On the other hand, Katasi also propelled Nzoia Sugar to a memorable season. For the better part of the campaign, the Bungoma club was in the title race but ended up finishing fourth, with Katasi playing a crucial role too.

Meanwhile, Levis Opiyo managed 15 clean sheets despite AFC Leopards not having an impressive campaign.

The Golden Boot race was more of a two-horse race as it involved only Omala and Rupia, unlike the Golden Glove contest, where four goalkeepers were in the mix for the better part of the campaign.

FKFPL Golden Boot Race

27 Goals: Elvis Rupia (Police FC)

26 Goals: Benson Omala (Gor Mahia)

14 Goals: Joseph Mwangi (Nzoia Sugar FC)

13 Goals: Abdalla Hassan (Bandari FC)

12 Goals: Kelvin Etemesi (City Stars)

11 Goals

Umaru Kasumba (Bandari FC)

10 Goals

Kennedy Owino (KCB FC)

Hillary Simiyu (Ulinzi Stars)

Golden Glove race

17 Clean Sheets

Gad Mathews (Gor Mahia)

Humphrey Katasi (Nzoia Sugar FC)

15 Clean Sheets: Levis Opiyo (AFC Leopards)

14 Clean Sheets: Brian Bwire (Tusker FC)

13 Clean Sheets

Job Ochieng (Police FC)

Bryne Omondi (KCB FC)

10 Clean Sheets: Sylvain Ricks (Ulinzi Stars)

9 Clean Sheets: Michael Wanyika (Bandari FC)

8 Clean Sheets: Gabriel Andika (KCB FC)

7 Clean Sheets: Patrick Matasi (Tusker FC/Police FC)

6 Clean Sheets: Kevin Omondi (Sofapaka FC)

5 Clean Sheets: Faruk Shikhalo (KK Homeboyz)