A closer look at the National Super League table with two rounds to the conclusion of the first leg reveals the competitiveness of the second tier.With the top two teams assured of automatic promotion to the top flight, a host of teams have not hidden their intentions of running away with either of the slots.Similarly, a fierce battle is being witnessed in the bottom half of the table as the two teams seating at the base will be thrown out of the competition at the end of the season.Having narrowly missed out promotion last season, Fortune Sacco who played Shabana to a 1-1 draw last weekend appear to be ticking the right boxes this time round as they sit at the summit with 33 points after 17 rounds.Although the Kirinyaga based side have a similar tally to that of the seconds placed APS Bomet, their boss Nicodemus Omasete maintains that they have no business with how other teams are faring.Starting a new week motivated and excited…!#fcukzoo #magicalkericho #NSL pic.twitter.com/Zlzj99NOnJ— Zoo FC (@zoofootballclub) March 21, 2022 Instead, the coach-cum player says their focus is taking a game at a time and fight to scoop more than 40 points in the second leg after narrowly missing the first leg target of having at least 45 points against their name.“So far so good, we are on the right track although we wanted to have more than forty points against our name in the first leg. We want to continue fighting and win the league at the end of the season. The team is not interested in the second or any other rank, our aim is to get promoted,” he said.His APS counterpart Charles Odera is also firmly holding on the belief that the top spot is theirs to lose if the fighting spirit in his team is anything to go by.KRU opens disciplinary proceedings on players who assaulted refereeOdera who has been in charge in two matches against Kibera Black Stars and Coastal Heroes said they will not settle for anything short of promotion, a declaration which sets up what would be an entertaining and competitive race going forward. APS beat Heroes 3-0 last Sunday.“The response from the players after the defeat to Kibera left me convinced that we will get promoted. The second tier has always proved to be tough but the players are ready to fight up to the last minute and see the club up there with the big boys,” said the former Chemelil Sugar coach.Despite trailing the two top teams by five points, Shabana head coach Sammy Okoth believes that there is still time to catch up with them and compete for the top honours. Shabana are ranked third with 28 points, two ahead of Naivas who are in their maiden season and Mombasa Elite who close the top five bracket.Picture of the day. pic.twitter.com/ZU3mfetFcw— Shabana Fc Kenya (@Shabanafckenya) March 21, 2022 Okoth says the Glamour Boys have an opportunity to make the long awaited return to the big stage should player welfare be taken seriously.“The only thing that is likely to distract my team from getting promoted is and will be when their needs are not well taken care of. We have good players who are determined to see the team get promoted,” said the former Zoo FC coach.FT: ZOO – KBS : 2 – 1Not a bad game. Our players tried their best but it was not enough today… pic.twitter.com/1IePyydGgD— Kibera Black Stars (@Kiberablackstar) March 19, 2022 Kibera Black Stars who were deemed as promotion candidates before the season began given the sponsors who came on board and the experienced players who joined the club are ranked sixth with 26 points. The slum boys lost 2-1 away to Zoo FC.Former top flight side Zoo FC sits ninth with 24 points while Vihiga United and Kisumu All Stars who have tasted FKF PL football before are placed seventh and 13th with 25 and 20 points respectively.Migori Youth lie at the rock bottom of the log with 13 points one off Mwatate United and newbies Mara Sugar who are above them. Another new side in SS Assad ranks 14th with 20 points.