Sharks shift focus to FKF Shield after Tusker rout

Kariobangi Sharks head coach William Muluya has warned his players not to get carried away by their emphatic 5-2 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) win over Tusker FC on Saturday.

Muluya’s rampant young side delivered the performance of the round as they bounced back to winning ways to go seventh on the KPL standings.

Muluya hailed his players for the way they dominated Tusker but asked them to quickly shift to attention to their domestic Cup assignment due next weekend against Modern Coast Rangers.

“The margin of the score line suggests that I ought to be very pleased. I am very pleased because we also collected maximum points but this is only one game. I am flirted but will not get carried away. We forget about this result very fast and move on,” Muluya told Citizen Digital.

Muluya refused to lay any blame on goalkeeper Brian Bwire who conceded a sloppy second goal in his debut for the club, insisting his performance had been solid and he will use the match as a reference point to keep improving.

“The kind of goals we gifted Tusker were a bit easy. We already had the three points in the first two minutes but we let it go just at the stroke of halftime. Therefore, we had to really fight to get all the three points.

“Tusker is a good opponent. They dominated the mid field and created a lot of chances. They scored two goals which is not good for us but for my goal keeper, I am sure that it will be a learning point. This was his first match and he is still young so what he needs is to be encouraged even more,” he said.

His opposite number Robert Matano blamed lack of concentration from his players for the loss while also taking on his midfield for their lack of ‘cutting edge’.

“It’s a sad day for us. We did not play well in the midfield. We conceded lots of possession and did not fight for the second balls. We were well prepared for the game but it’s the lack of concentration especially in the middle of the pack that let us down and we struggled to recover,” a despondent Matano said.

Kariobangi Sharks and Tusker now shift gears to the FKF Shield cup as the former prepares to take on coastal based  opponents, Modern Coast Rangers at the Mbaraki Sports Club while the latter hoping to keep up their run in the cup competition against Bungoma Super Stars away in Narok Stadium.

In other KPL matches struggling Sony Sugar posted the upset result of the weekend after overpowering second-placed Sofapaka 2-0 thanks to goals from Kelvin Wesonga and Enoch Agwanda.

Elsewhere, Felix Okoth’s early strike was the difference as Chemelil Sugar defeated Nzoia Sugar 1-0 at the Chemelil Complex.

Vihiga United failed to make the most of their home advantage as they were at the receiving end of a 2-0 loss to 2010 champions Ulinzi Stars.

In another match Zoo Kericho shared spoils with an in-form Nakumatt after the game ended with a 1-1 score line.

KPL WEEKEND RESULTS

Saturday

Mathare United 3-3 Wazito FC

Kakamega Homeboyz 1-1 Thika United

Kariobangi Sharks 5-2 Tusker FC

AFC Leopards SC 0-0 Bandari FC

Sunday 

Nakumatt FC 1-1 Zoo Kericho

Vihiga United 0-2 Ulinzi Stars

Chemelil Sugar 1-0 Nzoia United

Sony Sugar 2-0 Sofapaka FC

-Dan Ogega contributed to this report