AFC Leopards moved to 10th position on the league table with a final round of matches remaining courtesy of a 1-0 win against Chemelil Sugar in the only fixture of the day Sunday at Moi International Sports Center in Nairobi.
Vincent Oburu scored the all-important goal in the eighth minute after Salim “Shitu” Abdalla had picked him up with a cross and he obliged much to the delight of the handful of Ingwe fans who had turned up to watch the match.
Revived Andrew Tololwa enjoyed a splendid afternoon out creating several chances which should have helped the Big Cats win by a bigger margin but for profligacy in front of goal.
They almost got a second goal in the 35th minute when Tololwa unleashed a powerful shot after being teed up by former Sofapaka and Bandari midfielder Musa Mudde, but his effort hit the crossbar.
The Ingwe front runner came close again three minutes later, but Chemelil custodian Jairus Adira was alert to punch the ball out of danger.
The sugar millers got their first real chances towards the end of the first stanza, but Collins Neto and Shafan Siwa showed poor touch in rapid succession.
Burundian Alex Kitenge, who was played as the lead striker b yIngwe in the match, squandered several chances in the second half but the damage had long been done as the Leopards registered back-to-back wins.
“You will never see him (Kitenge) again in our matches. That boy has missed so many chances and that is a clear demonstration of lack of skill and intelligence. It is a pity we don’t have a depth in our squad, and we had to field him today, but if a striker wastes that number of chances, he is not worthy of wearing an AFC shirt. I am very disappointed with his performance today,” Leopards coach Robert Matano said after the match.
Perhaps harsh on the player, but Matano was increasingly showing his frustration with Leopards’ season long inability to put away the chances they create with efficiency.
