The 2023/2024 Mozzart Bet Cup final is the closest KCB FC have come to continental football since the 2021 FKF Premier League season when the title eluded them on the final day of action. Just as three years ago, the Bankers fell, though closely, to eventual domestic cup winners Kenya Police FC.The KCB fraternity must be gutted by proximity of continental action, and the falling short of it. The team itself, led this time by Bernard Mwalala, say they threw everything they had in the final. Derrick Omondi not only saw full minutes in the clash, but has been a standout performer for the Bankers throughout the season. He says they did everything right, except score it seems.”Some of us still can’t believe how the title slipped. We gave everything at it, played just as the coach had instructed and created more chances than the opponent. We should have won in regulation time. I think luck just wasn’t on our side,” says the 19 year old.CECAFA Kagame Cup: Gor Mahia seek redemption against Djibouti TelecomWith Mwalala at the wheel for KCB, a tried and tested figure especially in continental action, Omondi thinks they have laid a very solid foundation on which to build something formidable for next season, perhaps go for both titles on offer.”Of course with a loss you dust yourself up and try again. That’s what we will do. Reaching the final itself is enough motivation to not leave anything to chance come next season. We will use the loss as fuel for a better campaign,” continues the former Dimba Patriots lad.Omondi, who has been flirting with the junior Kenya U20 team, however, takes immense pride in the shift he has put up for his employers since being brought in two years ago.##NAJAVA_MECA_8210017##Scouted by the now Gor Mahia assistant coach Zedekiah Otieno, Omondi took his time to settle in the team, managing just a handful of off-the-bench appearances. The then 17-year-old terms the first season a learning curve.”I was very young when I first came in and as such had to take some time to learn from the more experienced players. Even though I never scored a goal, I learnt a lot and that’s what inspired last season’s performance,” continues Omondi.The winger turned out 33 times in all competitions for the Bankers, scoring twice and assisting four times. And in the matches that he was not involved in a goal, his impact was immense enough to earn a nod from the coach for the next fixture.New Gor Mahia head coach reveals why drawing Al Ahly in CAF Champions League ‘is very good’”It’s all about returning the favour. When the coach trusts you with starting a match, you reciprocate by putting in a good shift. This is how it worked for me and I am proud of how I have performed this past season,” Omondi, who first came to prominence with Dagoretti High school in the national school games, says.With his feet now deep into the Kenyan top flight yet still very young, the forward now wants to don the national team colours having narrowly missed out on the Kenya U20 call-up late last year.”I was actually called up but didn’t have enough time to get my documents in order so I missed that chance. I am sorted now and hopefully, I will get another chance to represent my country,” he reveals.##NAJAVA_MECA_8209448##The Kenya U20 team won the Four Nation’s Tournament this year, a decent return from the lads who ply their trade in various Premier League clubs locally.Their counterparts, the U23 side also did favourably in the recent COSAFA Cup, bowing out in the group stages despite edging tournament giants Zambia and Zimbabwe.
