Juma: Did you expect AFC Leopards to beat Tusker FC?

BetOdds FKF Premier League Tusker v Leopards Leopards Tusker

The ex-Harambee Stars player is still optimistic of winning the league despite the recent setback

AFC Leopards team manager, who doubles up as an interim assistant coach, has conceded beating Tusker in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League assignment on Friday was a tall order.

The 13-time champions fell 2-0 against the league leaders in a match played at Thika Stadium. The Brewers scored a goal in each half courtesy of Chris Ochieng in the 15th minute and Chris Onyango in the 50th minute to earn revenge against Ingwe, who had beaten them 2-1 in the first round meeting and also eliminated them from the FKF Shield Cup after a 1-0 win.

Ingwe had come into the match hoping to get a positive outcome but ended up without a point. The win enabled Tusker to cement their place at the top of the 18-team table with 54 points from 25 matches while AFC remained third on 43 points from 24 matches.

"In this game, we came missing senior players; the likes of Benjamin Ochan, Said Tsuma, who are out of contract, and 10 other players due to injuries and national team assignments," Juma told Goal.

"Did you expect us to win the game? It was going to be a tall order. But despite that, we gave our best and would have scored several goals, just that we missed great chances in front of the goal.

"To be honest, this is the best game we played despite coming into the match with an understrength team. The injury to Brian Wanyama also meant we had to make some tactical changes, but all I can say is that the future is bright."

The Brewers have 11 points more than Ingwe and with about 10 matches to go, are Ingwe still in the title race?

"In football, you must keep on believing and giving your best to the end," Juma, who played for Harambee Stars as a midfielder continued.

"You cannot tell what will happen tomorrow; the best thing is to ensure we continue pushing harder. If we win our remaining nine matches, then who knows?

"The teams above us might slip and we can be crowned at the end of the campaign. Chances look minimal but we have to do our part as well."

2021-07-18 18:00:05

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