Mara Sugar Boss on How He Masterminded Shock Win over AFC Leopards

Mara Sugar stunned AFC Leopards 2-0 at the Awendo Green Stadium on Saturday to get a vital win under Edward Manoah.

Mara Sugar head coach Edward Manoah has explained how he was able to mastermind a shock 2-0 win over AFC Leopards at the Awendo Green Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The defeat not only ended Leopards’ impressive 14-match unbeaten streak but also denied them the chance to move top of the standings, at least temporarily, ahead of Kakamega Homeboyz’s fixture on Sunday.

Mara Sugar, who had drawn their last three matches, were resilient throughout the afternoon before punishing Ingwe’s wastefulness with two late goals from Dennis Cheruiyot, in the 88th and stoppage time.

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Despite enjoying long spells of possession, Leopards failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities, leaving head coach Fred Ambani visibly frustrated after the final whistle.

Speaking to Azam TV after the final whistle, Manoah explained just how much of a relief the win was for his charges, who had gone on a three-game winless streak.

“It is good because it has been a while since we won, so it will rebuild our confidence, especially at home. We have been under a lot of pressure, but now it is relieving to have won,” Manoah said.

Manoah explained that, upon observing Fred Ambani’s intent to sub on multiple attackers in the quest to break the deadlock, it was a great opportunity to exploit them on the counter attack, which allowed him to bring on the speedy Cheruiyot.

“We changed the format after they made their changes. They subbed on a lot of attackers and only left two people at the back, so we asked Dennis to take advantage of any loose balls and that is what happened.”

We Must Do Better- Manoah

Despite the win, Manoah remains unpleased with certain elements of his side’s display, which he wants his charges to work on in order to improve.“We won, but I am still not pleased with our second half display. We need to be better, but I have to congratulate them on the win, but we still have work to do, so we will do our homework, review our clips and see how to improve.”

Manoah also took time to jump to the defence of his charges’ lack of experience at the highest level, which he believes have prevented them from truly getting to express themselves.

“We have had to work on our finishing which has not been good. Maybe for some of them, the stage fright is affecting them because it is the first time someone like (David)  Omondi  is playing at a high level despite being good technically.”

Mara Sugar will now be taking on KCB in their next game of the season following the culmination of the upcoming international break.