AFC Leopards coach Stewart Hall was not a happy man during the post-match interview after the humiliating 3-0 Mashemeji Derby loss.
He turned pink tearing into his players for such a languid lousy show at the hands of their slayers-of-the-day, Gor Mahia.
AFC Leopards were horrible on the day. They looked timid, frail and pedestrian to say the least. The three-man backline fell into shackles from the onset and I think the debate of who’s better between Ingwe’s Robinson Kamura and Gor’s Harun Shakava was settled. One defence conceded thrice and it wasn’t Shakava’s side that did.
Deplorable fielding
In as much as Hall would want to blame his players, I also find him at fault for his deplorable fielding. How was Samuel Ndung’u expected to drift to fullback when we all know his strength is in his pace upfront?
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When Andrew Tololwa came on, it was too late and he was too average to cope with the swashbuckling tempo that Gor Mahia employed throughout the match.
How Allan Kateregga is played on the wings simply to accommodate captain Bernard Mang’oli is one complex Sudoku that can only be resolved by Hall himself. Doesn’t the team need the pace of Kateregga in central midfield to shake opponents? I’m not the coach anyway, but I feel I could be right.
AFC Leopards’ jaundice is in their inability to show up for big matches. Their run leading to this fixture was horrible. They went down 1-0 to Sofapaka and had to somehow look for a last-minute equaliser against league leaders Posta Rangers.
And this is of great concern to the legion that sings week-in-week out saying ‘Ours Forever!’. Coach Hall, in his livid post-match interview, with galleys of wrinkles on his 54-year-old forehead, said if he had the money, he would have given refunds to all the fans. Those were signs of a man swamped in frustration.
But that is not what the fans want. It is beyond the mere Sh300 fans pay for Mashemeji Derby. There’s more at stake than just that...much more.
Coach Hall may refund the money, but he cannot restore the millions of broken Ingwe hearts now languishing in the humiliation of having to wake up every day to the dreadful reality that Coach Ze Maria has now beaten AFC Leopards all occasions he has played them.
As Hall correctly described them, Ingwe players ran around like scared rabbits all through the match. They showed no signs of urgency or hunger for victory.
Too frail
The defence was suspect, midfield too frail and attack was outright wanting in many ways more than once. In fact, they had only two corner kicks and one shot on target in the entire match.
And this is exactly what the team has been displaying week-in-week out. Against Rangers, they had to be reminded that the game was ending for them to equalise.
Against Sofapaka, they simply didn’t show up and at Chemelil, they were a pale shadow of themselves, losing 2-0.
They have become a painful team to watch.
They must know they are a source of joy and grief to millions of fans.
Kageni is a commentator on Sporting issues. sportsdesk@standardmedia.co.ke
