Nairobi United skipper Isaac Ouma has opened up on the team’s fairytale run in the 2024/25 Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Shield Cup run.

Speaking after Sunday, June 1, 2025, victory over Mara Sugar, Ouma hailed what was a repeat of another stunning performance characterising the team’s familiar giant-killing display.

The victory secured Naibois slot in the cup final, where they will face Gor Mahia FC with silverware at stake.

The skipper revealed that there has been no secret behind the team’s slaying of top league opponents, including several KPL sides whom they put to the sword.

In the run-up to the finals, the high-riding NSL outfit has sent KCB FC packing through post-match penalties in the early stages.

The team stretched the stunning performance to edge Tusker in the round of 16. They later downed Kakamega Homeboyz and Mara Sugar, among the teams that ply their trade in the top league.

“We have confidence in ourselves. We are a team that believes in ourselves and knows our capabilities. We have taken such a belief in our games, and along with the right motivation and hard work, we got here,” he told People Daily Digital Sports.

Penalties prowess

The skipper also spoke on how they have managed to keep cool heads in all the lottery of post-match penalties in cases where they battled to a tied outcome.

“Penalties are always unpredictable, but we have never stopped fighting in our game. When we have been forced to face them (penalties), we have approached them with the said confidence, and it has paid off,” he said.

In the decisive semifinals, Nairobi United’s custodian Ernest Muhammad, came clutch with a couple of penalty saves, securing a final berth after the game was tied to a one-all draw.

For Nicholas Muyoti’s side, the FKF Shield Cup finals will not only prove a stage to showcase what they bring to the top-flight league come the 2025 season, but also claim the lucrative Ksh2 million cash reward for the eventual winners.