We were poor against Bidco – Matano

Tusker FC head coach Robert Matano wants his charges to quickly forget their Saturday 2-1 defeat to FKF-PL newbies Bidco United, demanding immediate reaction in their next league tie when they host his former club Ulinzi Stars.

Matano led the Brewers into the match looking to hit 35 points after 14 outings, and would have opened a nine-point gap at the top had he bagged three points, only to give away all the points with just a minute on clock.

It looked like the clash was settling for a draw but Bidco, a side he also coached before, ensured there was no sharing spoils with Matano blaming his side for losing the mettle to at least salvage a draw.

“The problem is that we couldn’t defend well to the end. We appeared to have fixed our problem after equalising, but we faltered at the end. In terms of points we are injured, but we will not dwell on it. We have to overcome the pain very fast, correct our mistakes and be ready for the next match,” said Matano.

He was particularly upset with his captain Hashim Sempala, who he pointed out failed to play to the game plan, denting their chances to command the match at the Kasarani Annex.

“Sempala and Faraj (Ominde) did not play the way we wanted, because he (Sempala) is supposed to cover the defence while Faraj supports the attack. Instead they retreated to play together and that’s where the problem came from. We have however seen it and we know how to rectify it,” explained the veteran coach, having also been forced to withdraw the Ugandan midfielder at the start of the second half.

Matano was however quick to caution Bidco United are not mere pushovers in the league, defending his players from accusation, as they lost to an ‘equal competitor’.

“Football isn’t like that, there are no lower teams and higher teams in the league. Bidco is a good team as well and that’s why we are playing in the same league. If you don’t play well and take your chances you will also be beaten by any team. We will not complain much but we know we didn’t play well, and they (Bidco) had prepared well hence the result,” a quite disappointed Matano offered.

Asked if his inform striker Henry Meja whom he withdrew in mid-second half was getting tired after being involved continuously in all matches recently, Matano separated the reflections of the day with the teenager’s form.

“No, the result is not about him but the whole team. He just had a bad day, like the rest of the team. We just didn’t play well as Tusker FC,” he noted, having seen the Harambee Stars call-up in the current Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee’s team fail to make notable impact in the entire match despite his terrific form that has seen him hit  eight goals so far.

Tusker now top the table with 32 points, six ahead of KCB who also lost 3-0 to Kariobangi Sharks in round 14 with AFC Leopards and Bandari sealing the top three slots with 25 each, although Ingwe have two matches in hand.