Kenya: Ambani Blames Unfavourable Hunting Ground for Leopards' First Loss in Kenya Premier League

By Omondi Onyatta

NAIROBI — AFC Leopards head coach Fred Ambani has blamed the poor state of Awendo Green Stadium for Saturday's 2-0 loss to Mara Sugar in the Kenya Premier League.

Ambani says the muddy pitch made it difficult to play their normal free-flowing football albeit he is grateful his players came away unscathed.

"First of all, the pitch itself is in a poor state...you cannot play your football the way you want to. We also didn't have our usual centreback pairing so it was like we had a totally new team. All in all, I am thankful that none of our players has incurred an injury on this poor pitch," the gaffer said.

Ambani also admitted culpability for the defeat, noting that his substitutions did not bear fruit as he expected.

"That is where things went wrong for us. The changes did not bear result for us as we had hoped to but regardless it is an opportunity for us to work on the mistakes and get better in the next match," the former Ingwe striker pointed out.

The felines were left with a bitter pill to swallow courtesy of David Cheruiyot's brace in the last five minutes.

The match, which was played in the aftermath of heavy rains that have pounded the area, brought a halt to Ingwe's unbeaten run in 2025/26 season.

The 12-time league champions remained perched in fourth place on the log with 12 points - the same number as Nairobi United, Posta Rangers and Tusker.

After the international break, they have a date with Kariobangi Sharks on November 23.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

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