Bottom-placed Vihiga United put up a spirited fight to hold the more fancied AFC Leopards to a barren draw at Nyayo Stadium on Sunday despite being reduced to ten men late in the game.
AFC Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems admitted his charges had an underwhelming performance and were even fortunate to have grabbed a point from the match.
The Belgian gaffer lashed out at his charges for resting on their laurels in a match they ought to have celebrated many goals.
“To be honest with you, today Vihiga deserved to get points from this match more than us. We generally played badly, no tempo...nothing,” said a visibly dejected Aussems.
Aussems, however, fell short of attributing their low-key performance to a congested fixture, noting that his charges exhibited signs of fatigue at the later stages of the encounter.
“Next week we face Bandari and that will be four matches in 11 days. I think it is also important for the FKF Caretaker Committee to consider decongesting the fixtures because the players are running out of steam,” said Aussems.
As the Belgian rued a bad day in office, his opposite number Abdalla Juma was basking in unprecedented glory.
Juma extolled his squad for displaying a great character despite concluding the match with a man less.
“I am glad we managed to get a point from this match because since the competition began we have never collected an away point in any of our matches,” said Juma.
“I wish to thank the boys for working hard this afternoon. Thankfully, we shall be playing our next five matches at home at Bukhungu and I'm urging my team to take advantage of the home ground to collect maximum points from at least four of the encounters,” said Juma.
Leaders Kakamega Homeboyz consolidated their position at the apex of the log following an emphatic 3-1 win over visiting Bidco United at Bukhungu Stadium.
Yema Mwana opened the floodgates in the 16th minute before David Okoth extended the advantage in the 31st minute.
Unrelenting in their attack, Homeboyz piled more pressure that forced their opponents to turn the ball into their own net. The visitors then picked their pieces to draw a consolation in the dying minutes.
The win has fired Homeboyz to 40 points, effectively helping them to open a five-point gap on second-placed Nairobi City Stars. Bidco are 14th with 20 points.
Record champions, Gor Mahia, squandered an early lead to settle for a one-all draw against Bandari at Mbaraki Stadium. The 19-time Kenyan champions have now slumped to sixth on the log with 31 points while Bandari remain eighth with 27.
