We must save Leopards from sinking further
AFC Leopards coach Tom Juma during their Football Kenya Federation Premier League match against Kenya Police at MISC, Kasarani on September 23, 2023. Leopards face bitter rivals Gor Mahia on October 7 at the same venue.
What you need to know:
- A few minutes to Saturday’s ‘Mashemeji’ derby, some players were seen still talking on their phones, confirming that some are not serious and something urgent needs to be done to save the team from relegation
- To make a comeback and and finish the league in respectable position, Leopards must avoid schoolboy defensive mistakes
The blame for AFC Leopards’ poor run in the league can be put on the playing unit, the technical bench and the club’s management.
After losing two matches and drawing four, the former champions have now drooped to position 17th in the 18-team league table and are starring at a possible chop. The recent results are worrying for the team that was expected to put up a sterling performance after bringing in 17 new players including a few national team stars.
A few minutes to Saturday’s ‘Mashemeji’ derby, some players were seen still talking on their phones, confirming that some are not serious and something urgent needs to be done to save the team from relegation.
Coach Tom Juma and his players must know that ‘Ingwe’ fans are disappointed with the current performances, especially on Saturday when they turned up in large numbers only to watch their beloved club losing 2-0 to arch-rivals Gor Mahia at Kasarani.
Indiscipline is rampant and some players care less about the current poor results. They must know that playing for Ingwe is an honour and a dream that only a few footballers get the chance to fulfil. Good team spirit is what gets results, though luck is also required, but, today it seems a section of players are out to punish the faithful Ingwe fans.
On Saturday, I fully blame the goalkeeper for the first goal, after he made a bizarre mistake when he left his goal too early allowing Benson Omala who was being handled by Randy Bakari to score.
Leopards started the match on a high note, but switched off along the way, before returning in the second half, but failed to capitalize on many chances that came their way. Other than the goalkeeper, the defence also made serious judgement errors, killing the moral of others.
The fans once again were baying for Juma’s blood, blaming him for failing to read the game, and making unnecessary substitutions. Our defence continued struggling, and the forward line failed to utilise chances.
We must now beat Bandari away next weekend to convince fans to attend matches. To make a comeback and and finish the league in respectable position, Leopards must avoid schoolboy defensive mistakes.
