We showed the hunger and energy: Kimani hails Leopards win over KCB

AFC Leopards interim head coach Antony ‘Modo’ Kimani has hailed his players for the hunger and energy they showed in the 2-1 win against league leaders KCB.

The Kasarani police station ground played host to the duel as the 12-time champions Ingwe clawed the Bankers, handing them their first defeat of the term.

Elvis Rupiah bagged a brace for the big cats to wash out a strike by Samuel Mwangi, for KCB.

According to Kimani, the win defined character and hard-work calling for consistency if they are to challenge for the title.

“A sweet win indeed,” he said, “It instills self believe and mental stability in the boys ahead of the next match. We had lost two matches in a row and this was needed so as to take us back to the right track especially after them (KCB) giving us an expected tough game,” Kimani  explained.

Kimani also tipped forwards Bienvenue Shaka and Hansel Ochieng  to find their scoring boots to augment the efforts of Rupiah who has so far scored seven league goals, putting him in a firm place to challenge for the Golden Boot award.

“We have a lot of players who have shown their potential of scoring like Hansel Shaka and if given more playing time they will pay back which is healthy for the team,” the soft spoken Kimani added.

For his part KCB head coach Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno lashed out at his boys for conceding ‘’cheap goals’’.

“We have only lost once while some teams have lost even five matches. However I congratulate AFC Leopards for the good football showcased just like my boys although we allowed them to score very easy goals,” said Otieno.

We are still in the race for the title and that is a dream for all the 18 teams,” he added.

The win saw Leopards, on 12 points, reduce KCB’s gap to only six. Ingwe however have a game in hand and could narrow the gap further should they beat Kariobangi Sharks on Sunday as the Bankers host struggling Western Stima.

Table Standings- Top 5

1. KCB- 18
2. Tusker-17
3. Kariobangi Sharks-15
4. Wazito-14
5. AFC Leopards 12