Murang’a Seal’s Monday wary of wounded Leopards

Murang'a Seal's skipper John Kiplangat vies for the ball in their clash against Kakamega Homeboyz/ HANDOUT

Murang’a Seal boss Osborne Monday is well aware of the mammoth task that awaits his side on Sunday as they lock horns with AFC Leopards at the Nyayo Stadium.

Seal walk into the fixture with a point to prove, having gone unbeaten by Ingwe during the 2024/25 league campaign.

In the first leg, they snatched a narrow 1–0 victory courtesy of Humphrey Obina’s 67th-minute strike, before battling to a 1–1 stalemate in the reverse fixture, where Joe Waithira found the net for Seal and Julius Masaba replied for Leopards.

However, Monday is under no illusions about the task ahead, acknowledging the threat Leopards pose and expecting a fiery contest.

“Playing against AFC Leopards will be a very good match and we expect very good play from our boys,” he noted.

Leopards head into the tie sitting fourth on the log with 12 points from their seven league outings. They will, however, be out for blood after falling 2–0 to Mara Sugar in their previous outing — a result that ended their unbeaten run in the SportPesa League.

Before that loss, Ingwe had shared the spoils in three straight draws, against Sofapaka (1–1), Posta Rangers (2–2) and Bandari (0–0), before claiming back-to-back victories over KCB (2–1), Shabana (2–1) and Mathare United (2–0).

Seal come into the tie 12th on the table with eight points. Their morale, however, will be high after a hard-fought 1–1 draw against a high-flying Kakamega Homeboyz in their last league encounter.

The Murang’a-based outfit has endured a mixed bag of results since the start of the season, picking up two wins against APS Bomet (2–0) and KCB (2–1), and two draws against Posta Rangers (2–2) and Homeboyz. They have, however, fallen short in four matches, suffering defeats to Ulinzi Stars (1–0), Bandari (3–1), Sofapaka (2–1) and Tusker (1–0).

Reflecting on the stalemate against Homeboyz, Monday lauded his players for a valiant performance on the road, saying the point had lifted the team’s confidence.

“Playing away is not easy, so kudos to the boys — they did a very good job. That one point has given us more confidence,” he said. “We got a good opponent who pushed us to step up our game.”

The tactician believes his side is gradually finding its rhythm.

“Football is a process and we have to believe in that process. Day by day, everything will fall into place,” he added.

However, he was quick to point out lapses in concentration — an area he insists must be addressed before facing Ingwe.

“We have an issue of concentration; our defender lost the ball and the opponent was tracking back,” he observed.