Why Mwalala's well facilitated KCB is staring at another trophyless campaign as Gor Mahia angle for another title

Why Mwalala's well facilitated KCB is staring at another trophyless campaign as Gor Mahia angle for another title

Mark Kinyanjui 09:00 - 17.04.2024

KCB were second to Gor Mahia last December, but have fallen off a massive cliff by April.

KCB head coach Bernard Mwalala has revealed the big reason that caused his side to lose their grip in the title race following a disastrous last four months that have seen the side win just one of their last 10 league games since the turn of the year.

In the first leg, the Bankers were on fire, creating numerous chances, scoring a lot of goals and being solid defensively. 

Their impeccability saw them putting a lot of pressure on league leaders Gor Mahia, and there was genuine optimism that they had a good chance of challenging for the title.

However, their form took a dramatic turn for the worse ever since they were thumped 5-0 by Tusker in January, and struggled to recover, and they have dropped down from second place to 10th place on 34 points, a whole 20 points behind K’ogalo.

KCB let alot of players leave in January, including their spin consisting of striker and goalkeeper Francis Kahiro and Byrne Omondi, who moved to fellow title challengers Bandari, as well as midfielder Apollo Otieno who moved to Tanzania’s Biashara United.

Their 1-0 loss against Kenya Police was their eighth loss of the season, but Mwalala saw a lot from that game to be optimistic about.

Mwalala's insights offer a glimpse into the internal challenges faced by KCB, particularly the impact of losing key players during the transfer window. Despite the difficulties, he believes that the team is regaining momentum and is optimistic about their prospects moving forward.

“There is a lot of light. I would say that the biggest reason we have struggled is because  we lost a lot of players, roughly 13 or 14 in January,” Mwalala said.

“We were forced into going into pre-season mode. We had to try and find a competent team while still competing, which affected us for over eight games.”

Mwalala is optimistic that the tide is bending in their favor after their new players started adapting to his methods.

“But the momentum is starting to gain and I think we have been doing well over the last month. We have slipped a little but it has given our players some strength because performances matter.

“We lost in a fight against Police, so there is alot of encouragement, but otherwise, that is the problem  which I think affected us.”