Mathare United will welcome Bidco United on Saturday for a crucial Premier League tie that holds significant bearing in the race for survival.
John Kamau’s men, who are in 12th place heading into the final seven games of the season, sit six points above the drop zone, which is a position that the Oilers currently sit in as they are in 17th place and nine points behind.
A win for either team will be a huge boost in the quest to remain in the topflight.
Mathare found itself in a similar situation that Bidco are in three years ago. Then under Charles Omondi, the Slumboys played Bidco on matchday 28, but could not master a win and lost 3-0 with that loss part of a 12 match winless run that would ultimately lead to the heartache of relegation at the end of the 22/23 season.
Steve Kimari, one of the two players remaining in the team from that season remembers this vividly.
“I remember that in 2023, we were in the same situation that Bidco are in,” Kimari shared as he previewed Saturday’s early kickoff. “They were doing much better than us and are one of the sides whom we lost against as we got relegated. I remember we were battling it out for survival with Muhoroni Youth and only the penultimate weekend, Bidco lost away to Muhoroni and that result confirmed our relegation.
“Battling relegation is difficult, and I know how hard Saturday’s game will be. We need to win, and so too does Bidco. There are a lot of dynamics at play, but it will all boil down to which team wants it the most,” he said.
Mathare and Bidco first played each other in the topflight in 2021. A total of nine matches have been contested between the two with the Oilers having the upper hand as they have won six times.
In the reverse game played back in December at the MISC Kasarani, both teams played out a 0-0 draw.