With their eyes glued on winning the elusive Premier League title, AFC Leopards started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Sofapaka, before registering a 2-2 draw against Posta Rangers. Ingwe’s matchday three fixture saw them draw 0-0 against Bandari FC.
The outcome of the game saw AFC Leopards fans demand for the sacking of coach Fred Ambani. Against Bandari, the fans besieged the technical bench at the final whistle, asking for answers over the poor run of results, and it required the intervention of Police officers to cool down the situation.
Ingwe management led by chairman Boniface Ambani, who ironically is the brother to coach Ambani, however, resorted to stick with the status quo heading into their fixture against KCB. Their trust paid off as AFC Leopards picked their first season win - 2-1 against KCB.
They travelled to Kisii to face Shabana, who were then leading the 18-team league table, and AFC Leopards returned with maximum points after a 2-1 win. On Sunday at Nyayo National Stadium, AFC Leopards made it three wins out of three following a 2-0 outcome against Mathare United.
After a 0-0 first half which produced fewer chances for either side, Ingwe exploded at the start of the second period. Their first goal arrived in the 48th minute when defender Vincent Mahiga finished off a neat cross from the left side.
James Kinyanjui sealed the emphatic win as AFC jumped to third on the table with 12 points in six matches. They have managed three wins, three draws and they are yet to lose a game.
Patience, and hard work paying off
Speaking after the win against the ‘Slum Boys’, coach Ambani explained how AFC Leopards have managed to haul a maximum nine points from their last three matches to stay unbeaten.
“In each and everything we believe in progress, progress is a very important thing, and if you are not patient enough to get results, then it will be a waste of time, patience pays, and hard work also pays, so AFC Leopards is benefitting because we have been patient enough,” said Ambani.
“We have been patient enough, we have done everything in training, we have worked hard in training, week in week out, and I am happy it is paying back, nine points is not an easy task, and it is a great achievement that I have to appreciate my players for the superb job.”
Ambani added: “Having a player like James (Kinyanjui) in your team is a blessing, maybe many people don’t know about that, but it is a blessing for us. Apart from scoring goals, he was instrumental in the game today (Sunday), because he contributed a lot for the win.
“We have really worked hard, the win hasn’t come from nowhere, it is because we have worked hard, and my players deserved to get the win.”
On what he told his players when AFC Leopards was leading 1-0, he replied: “I told them 1-0 is not enough, that was a risky lead and we needed to make it 2-0 or even 3-0 to be safe, and I was happy to see the players manage to score the second.
“We know it was not easy because Mathare are a very good side, they have good players, and a good coach, and we saw how they played. We needed to remain cautious and do our job.”
Ambani will hope to keep the winning run going when AFC Leopards host Murang’a Seal on Saturday, before they entertain Mara Sugar after the FIFA international break.
