AFC Leopards Coach Fred Ambani Explains What Went Wrong in ‘Unacceptable’ Bandari Draw

AFC Leopards head coach Fred Ambani has urged for fans to remain patient with his process after the club were consigned to a third-consecutive league draw against Bandari at the Kasarani Stadium on Wednesday.

Leopards, who had already drawn against Sofapaka and Posta Rangers in their first two games, needed a win to put the pressure off Ambani’s shoulders, with the club under scrutiny in recent weeks amid apparent boardroom wrangles that have overshadowed on-pitch performances.

However, the draw left the fans frustrated, with some of them taking to the parking lot right in front of where the team-bus was stationed to express their frustration.

Speaking to Azam TV following the draw, Ambani admitted his charges were simply not effective enough in the final third to score goals and get the victory.

“We are not happy with a third consecutive draw. It is not good enough. It simply has not been easy,"said Ambani.

Having already failed to register victory in their first two games, Ambani tried to test a different formation in the hopes it would have borne fruit.

Ambani decided to start the match without natural wingers, with both Tyson Otieno and Elias Muriuki starting instead of the likes of Ronald Sichenje and Victor Otieno, but they barely produced any chances of real  quality.

Ambani says the idea was to try and see if using more playmakers would help them create more chances, an experiment that just never bore fruit.

“We came with a formation we had not tested before. Today, we tried not to use wide players but it did not work so we reverted to our usual formation. We have not been getting results so we were trying to see if it would work.

"The boys tried to do well with the changes but it did not work. I think we are just being unlucky.”

The coach  took the opportunity to rally the club’s loyal fans, encouraging them to keep their faith in the team as they aim to regain their winning form.

“First, the fans have been very patient, but I plead with them to stay so. We have to beg for forgiveness for what happened today. I can only promise them that things will get better moving forward.”

Leopards were scheduled to face KCB in their fourth league game of the season, but the fixture has been postponed after Football Kenya Federation made the decision to suspend all league matches in order to honor the fallen former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who will be laid to rest in Bondo on Sunday.