Kariobangi Sharks head coach William Muluya has extolled his charges for shaking off their underdogs' tag to stun champions Tusker 3-0 at Moi Stadium, Kasarani on Sunday.
After firing a hat-trick past Mathare United a week ago, Felix Oluoch returned to haunt the brewers yet again with a brilliant 66th-minute sitter that fired him to the summit of the top scorers' chart with six goals.
Sydney Lokale and Patrick Otieno then completed the rout with splendid strikes in 77th and 80th minutes respectively.
Muluya admitted the outcome exceeded his expectations heading into the match.
“Although the team is new each player is determined to prove himself. They are giving me more faith by the day,” said a visibly elated Muluya after the full-time whistle.
The gaffer was full of rosy words for Lokale and Otieno, saying they rose to the occasion and proved their mettle despite both of them having just returned from injury.
“Lokale and Otieno are just back from injury and therefore their goals proved to be special in some way,” said Muluya.
As Muluya celebrated their landmark victory, his opposite number Robert Matano chided his underfire side for handing their opponents victory on a silver platter, following grave juvenile howlers.
“We gave away some easy goals. We never settled throughout the match. Hopefully, we will be able to rectify our mistakes before our next match but I believe we have the capacity to bounce back,” said Matano grumpily.
Matano lamented that the injury sustained by left fullback Jimmy Mbugua early in the game disoriented his team and took the technical bench back to the drawing board.
He has, however, challenged his charges to produce results that reflect positively on the corporate image of their shirt sponsors.
“We have to work hard going forward. Tusker is a brand and we have to defend the brand at all costs,” said Matano.
Matano was forced into an early substitution in the ninth minute after Mbugua was stretchered off with a nasty injury following a collision.
It was, however, the young Sharks who dominated most of the proceedings as they cleverly outshone their opponents with well-strung crisp passes.
The outcome has propelled Sharks to second on the log with 13 points, one adrift of leaders Gor Mahia while Tusker remain 11th with six points.
At Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega, coastal darlings Bandari squandered Benjamin Mosha's sixth-minute opener to share spoils with hosts Kakamega Homeboyz after Brian Eshihanda equalised late in the match.
