Nzoia Sugar head coach Bernard Mwalala watches his side during a past Kenyan Premier League match. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 25 – Despite failing to win a single match in their previous two fixtures on the road, Kenyan Premier League( KPL) side Nzoia Sugar’s head coach Bernard Mwalala is optimistic of recovering when they face Nakumatt on Saturday at the Ruaraka Complex.
The Bungoma-based side lost 1-0 away to Thika United at the Thika Sub-County Stadium last weekend and went on to lose 3-1 to 2009 champions Sofapaka in their midweek fixture on Wednesday in Nairobi.
They face fellow Premier League newcomers Nakumatt in their last of three games in a week away from home on Saturday with the hope of bagging a point in the least.
“It’s been a very difficult trip and we cannot afford to lose three games in row. This is a must win for us. The worst we expect is a draw. The boys have to be mentally strong and understand the nature of the league; we just have to perform because the league is very tight,” Mwalala told Capital Sport.
The two teams who faced each other last season in the National Super League played out to a 0-0 draw in the first leg tie staged at the Sudi Stadium in Bungoma, but Mwalala wants a better show and result from the return tie.
Nzoia Sugar players try in vain to stop Sofapaka’s Ezekiel Okare from scoring in a Kenyan Premier League clash at the Kasarani Stadium on August 23, 2017. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
Nzoia are ninth on the KPL log and Mwalala has blamed their hot and cold performances this season on inexperience, though he commends them for putting up a good show in all their matches.
“We have to kill the game when we have chances to score. Against Sofapaka and Thika we played well but we missed several important chances which would have given us a different result. But it’s an experience we learn from,” the former Kenyan international revealed.
On the flip side Nakumatt, are placed 10th with 26 points, just one shy of Nzoia and have won only one of their last five league matches.
Head coach Anthony Mwangi is however optimistic that despite the financial difficulties the team is going through, they can bounce back with a win to boost their motivation ahead of a tough business end of the season.
“We have a lot of challenges in the company. The effect is real; running football is very expensive and any constrain will directly affect the team even in the field but we will approach the next game with a view of fighting for top 10 in the back of our minds,” Mwangi told Capital Sport.
Nakumatt played out to a tough 1-1 result against Mathare last Wednesday and when they return to the same venue on Saturday, Mwangi hopes he will be leaving with all three points in the bag.
“My players have matured and they play according to instruction. We are going to approach this game just like we have approached all the other games and hopefully we will get a positive result,” Mwangi added.
