Kariobangi Sharks wrung out a hard-fought 2-1 win over rivals Mathare United to claim the 'Slum Derby' bragging rights at Kasarani Annex on Tuesday.
Tyson Otieno put the Sharks in front from the spot in the 22nd minute only for Curtis Wekesa to cut short their celebrations with a splendid close-range effort six minutes later.
Otieno, however, fired Sharks back into the lead in the 54th minute, his second goal separating the two sides at full-time.
Visibly ecstatic with the win, Kariobangi Sharks' head coach, William Muluya, lavished praises on his charges, saying they deserved the maximum points after a brilliant display of character.
Muluya said the outcome signified their desire to bounce back strongly after a series of flops in their preceding encounters.
"We most definitely deserved this victory today. A tough match against a tough opponent but we finally came out unscathed. This is a brilliant afternoon for us and we hope to carry the momentum into our next match," Muluya stated.
With any hopes of securing a dream maiden title becoming remote by the day, Muluya has urged his team to hammer away tirelessly for a decent finish, preferably in the top five.
"Our aim at the moment is to finish in a respectable position at the end of the season.
Muluya, who doubles as the Harambee Stars assistant coach, has tipped his budding youngsters to crack the title shortly after blossoming into full maturity.
"This is a young team with a promising future ahead of them. They have proved themselves worthy of the topflight stage despite most of them featuring in the league for the first time," Muluya said.
As Muluya enumerated his blessings, his opposite number at Mathare United Samwel Koko was full of trepidations.
"It was a closely contested match that could have gone either way. But three losses in a row is something that should now get us worried," Koko said.
Currently, in the danger zone, Koko has raised the red flag, pointing out that any further losses could extinguish any hopes they have of maintaining a topflight status come the next season.
"We need to start winning matches again for us and for our fans who have stood solidly behind us throughout the season. We can't afford to lose again," Koko said.
Tuesday's win catapulted Sharks to 11th position on the log with 36 points while Mathare are still on the precipice of relegation, third from the bottom after amassing a paltry 22 points thus far from 26 outings.
In another match played at the venue earlier in the day, Wazito revived their hopes of evading relegation with a hard-fought 3-2 win over hosts Sofapaka.
