Aussems happy with draw despite losing chance to go top

AFC Leopards are under pressure to regain the fine form they had enjoyed in the first leg on the current Premier League campaign, as the race to lift the title for the first time since 1998 grows tougher.

After a frustrating 2-2 draw with 2009 champions Sofapaka in Taita Taveta on Wednesday, Ingwe could not ascend to the summit of the league, a chance that was left for grabs thanks to Tusker disappointing 0-1 loss to Posta Rangers on Tuesday.

Instead, it is KCB who took the advantage to go top after edging Bidco United 1-0 which pushed them to 39 points, one behind Tusker and two behind Leopards.

However, Aussems, is thankful Leopards got at least a point in the clash, having gone two goals down within the first 10 minutes.

“I think people saw a good game with intensity although we found ourselves 2-0 down in the opening 10 minutes which was unfortunate for us.To pull a comeback and draw is something that I commend my boys for.

“I want the team to play football and not long balls. I want to say that I’m happy to see very good football today (Wednesday) even if we were not able to win this game,” Aussems said.

His counterpart Ken Odhiambo is of the view that his boys easily gifted their opponents in a match that they could have won.

“We got a point but I am not happy because we could have gotten maximum points. Our plan to get a goal in the first 15 minutes worked but after that the boys lost concentration,” Odhiambo said.

Sofapaka will now aim for maximum points in their next outing when they meet defending champions Gor Mahia, according to Odhiambo.

“We focus on the next game which is Gor Mahia in Thika, forget about today’s draw because it has already happened and so we can only soldier on,” concluded Odhiambo.