Ushuru were tough and dangerous: Leopards Kimani says after victory

AFC Leopards coach Anthony Kimani has termed their 4-2 win post-match penalty victory over second-tier side Ushuru FC on Sunday in the  FKF Shield round of 16 match as “tough and dangerous”.

The two sides were locked at 0-0 at the end of regulation time, forcing the tie to be determined by spot kicks.

“It’s usually very unpredictable to play teams like Ushuru and that require a lot of patience and resilience which is what made us win the match. I commend my boys for executing the job after we practised the kicks before the game,” said Kimani.

Leopards were however spot-on in their penalties converting all four through Boniface Mukhekhe, Said Tsuma, Washington Munene and Chris Oruchum while the losers scored their first and forth penalties through Evans Makari and Oscar Mbugua.

Edwin Mwaura had his effort blocked by Leopards goalkeeper Ezekiel Owade and Jackton Onjala’s cracker hit the cross bar.
Ushuru coach, James Otieno, in the meantime conceded defeat but described the outcome as a “big learning lesson” in their remaining National Super League matches.

“Stretching an experienced side like AFC Leopards is not a joke and of course we have learnt several important lessons which we will use in our quest to get to the Kenya Premier League,” said Otieno.

Following their victory, coach Kimani’s boys will play the winner between Kisumu All Stars and Vihiga United. The quarter-finals will be played on April 11.

At Camp Toyoyo, another KPL side Kariobangi Shark emerged winners with a 4-1 margin over NSL side FC Talanta who are coached by Ken Kenyatta.

At Afraha Stadium, home side Ulinzi Stars laboured 1-0 past Migori Youth to progress to the last eight, Bernard Ongoma scoring the only goal of the match