Curse of ‘small’ teams has been AFC’s undoing
AFC Leopards fans celebrate after whipping Top Fry Allstars 2-0 in a Kenya Premier League match at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru on October 5, 2014. Ingwe tends to have little trouble trouncing our noisy neighbours and Tusker but struggle against the likes of KCB, City Stars and Top Fry. FILE PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- That explains why Ingwe has collected four out of six points from K’Ogalo and Tusker this season but lost home and away to Mathare United
- Meanwhile, I must remind one Tom Osanjo that we do not need any favours, least of all from K’Ogalo to win matches
Those of us who have keenly followed AFC Leopards over the years will easily tell you that it is always easier for Ingwe to triumph over the big guns than against relegation threatened sides.
Ingwe tends to have little trouble trouncing our noisy neighbours and Tusker but struggle against the likes of KCB, City Stars and Top Fry.
That explains why Ingwe has collected four out of six points from K’Ogalo and Tusker this season but lost home and away to Mathare United.
This jinx against the “small’’ sides did not start this season, it has always been the case. For as long Kisumu Hotstars was in the top tier league, it rarely lost to Ingwe.
That is why the other weekend’s victory over Tusker did not surprise me at all.
INGWE COMPOSURE
What perhaps surprised me, pleasantly, was the composure of the Ingwe players even when they were two goals down midway through the second half.
Nobody seemed to panic, it infact appeared to me that it was the brewers who were on the edge, praying that the referee ends the match.
The first substitution, Khamati for Mang’oli, caught a number of us by surprise; we thought it ought to have been the off colour Noah Wafula making way for the former AP striker.
The third substitution, veteran midfield maestro Charles Okwemba in Edwin Wafula’s place, was equally surprising given the latter’s impressive performance on the day.
Gladly, the changes worked magic with Khamati and Timonah Wanyonyi bringing rare urgency upfront. Such is the depth in this team that I see no reason for new signings at the end of the season.
SUSPICIOUS PENALTIES
We may just make do with one or two signings, especially at left back where Abdalla Juma has struggled over the last couple of games.
We may also need a top striker to compliment Wafula, Keli and Ikenna and maybe an attacking winger in the mould of Paul Were to provide the much needed width.
This will give the coach flexibility to easily switch from his preferred 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 or even 3-5-3.
Meanwhile, I must remind one Tom Osanjo that we do not need any favours, least of all from K’Ogalo to win matches. Neither do we need suspicious penalties like the ones awarded that favoured sides like K’Ogalo always benefit from.
Lastly, I hope I won’t suffer the fate of Tusker’s assistant coach Leonard Odipo who was fined Sh100,000 by the K’Ogalo leaning KPL Mafioso for stating the all too obvious.
