• “We've played really well. We rattled the upright twice. Whatever Ouna said is immaterial. We don't count passes, we count scores," said Matano.
• His counterpart Frank Ouna said the brewers frustrated his boys' style of play by keeping the ball midair for the better part of the game.
Tusker head coach Robert Matano insists they are still on their way to clinching the top-flight title despite dropping points against a resilient Mathare United side at Ruaraka grounds on Wednesday.
The Slum Boys put up a fierce fight to hold the brewers to a barren draw, but Matano believes they are still the team to beat.
“We've played really well. We rattled the upright twice. I believe we'll bounce back in our next match against Nairobi City Stars,” said Matano.
His counterpart Frank Ouna said the brewers frustrated his boys' style of play by keeping the ball mid-air for the better part of the game.
“Tough game. Never knew we were playing against a team from the sugar belt. The ball was ever in the air. The boys should try as much as they can to start posting positive results,” said Ouna.
Bouyed by the home advantage and a string of consecutive victories, the brewers came threatening Slum Boys' goal in the 10th minute.
Brian Marita picked out Faraj Ominde with a fine cross but the midfielder's header bumped off David Okello’s palms.
Chris Ochieng’s effort to bury it away on the second bite of the cherry didn't materialise either. Norman Ogolla found himself strategically positioned to clear the resultant header.
In the 17th minute, George Ogutu attempted a long-range shot some 25 yards out but his effort greased the crossbar.
A minute later, Khalid Jumaan’s cheeky attempt to lob the ball over Emery Mvuyekure from the middle of the pitch didn't yield much fruit.
Chris Ochieng should have put the brewers ahead in the 26th minute after being teed up by Hashim Sempala but his rasping shot rattled the upright.
Mathare thought they had scored in the 29th minute, after Cercidy Okeyo looped the ball over the packed midfield in an attempt to catch Mvuyekure flat-footed. However, the keeper peddled back swiftly and was right in time to palmed the ball back into play just as it crossed the line.
In the 36th minute, the Slum Boys came breathing heavily down their opponent's neck when James Kinyanjui found space and time in front of him space only to shoot the ball wide.
In other matches, minnows Western Stima beat AFC Leopards 3-2 while Bandari and Bidco played out to a two-all draw at Thika Stadium.