AFC Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems was over the moon after his charges rallied from a goal down to thump Mathare United 3-1 in a tension-filled Kenyan Premier League thriller at Nyayo Stadium on Thursday.
Both sides were reduced to ten men in the dying minutes of the game after Mathare midfielder Khalid Jumaan and Leopards defender Collins Shivachi were red-carded following an ugly scuffle that drew in several other players.
While conceding that his team's underwhelming performance in the first half gave him the goosebumps, Aussems nonetheless extolled his charges for bouncing back strongly after the breather to finish their opponents off.
“I'm happy we managed to secure all the three points at the end of the day. That's what we looked forward to and it's good we achieved it,” said Aussems.
“I was a bit disappointed with the performance we put in the first half. We were not aggressive enough and we lacked the crucial tempo,” he added.
Daniel Okoth came on the end of Alphonse Ndonye's enticing cross to put the Slum Boys ahead in the 54th minute.
Washington Munene restored parity from the spot in the 67th following an infringement on Nigerian striker Ojo Olaniyi.
Olaniyi then pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the box to double the advantage in the 75th minute before Peter Thiongo's 82nd-minute effort from a tight angle sealed the Slum Boys' fate.
The two sides meet again on Sunday and Aussems says he will tinker with his squad in the return tie.
“I'll be fielding a new lineup in our return match against Mathare on Sunday. Martin Nabwire will definitely be out on suspension after accumulating four yellow cards and Shivachi won't be around just as well," said Aussems.
The referee splashed four yellow cards in a space of 60 seconds as enraged Mathare players swarmed him to protest his decision to award Leopards the contentious penalty.
At Bukhungu Stadium, leaders Kakamega Homeboyz and second-placed Nairobi City Stars shared spoils in an eight-goal thriller.
Champions Tusker beat bottom-placed Vihiga United 2-0 at Ruaraka Grounds.
Homeboyz remain at the top of the log with 32 points with City Stars maintaining their second spot with 27.
Leopards are 14th with 17 points while Mathare are second last with seven.
