Ambani vows to deliver AFC Leopards title after Gor Mahia derby win

Kenyan Premier League outfit AFC Leopards head coach Fred Ambani belives their FKF Premier League Mashemeji derby win against rivals Gor Mahia has showed their clear intentions to reclaim the league title this season.

Ingwe finally ended a run of five league matches without beating their sworn rivals after forward Julius Masaba scored in the first half to secure a memorable victory during a pulsating 98th Mashemeji derby.

Ambani confident AFC will win title

“We are going for the title, I don’t want to lie,” Ambani said as quoted by Flashscore after the game. “The way my players played today (Sunday), it shows you they want to win the title at the end of the season.

“The hunger they showed, the fighting spirit, the aura to defend and attack together against a former champion, is a strong signal of what this young crop of players wants to achieve with AFC Leopards.”

Ambani added: “If you want to win the title, you must beat every team that is ahead of you. Gor Mahia is the first culprit, and now our focus is on the other teams ahead of us. We want to pocket all of them, to achieve our title aspirations.”

On his game plan, Ambani said: “I looked at this fixture, and how we have been playing, and noticed we can only make it with experienced players, that is why I trusted players like Masaba, James (Kinyanjui), and Kyce (Odhiambo) to do the job, we only needed experience to prevail.

“I also looked at the past record. I haven’t lost to Gor Mahia as a player or as a coach, so I looked around for players who could help me beat them. I told my players, ‘I have never lost to Gor Mahia but have drawn all matches, so all we need now is a win’.”

The victory helped AFC Leopards to move sixth on the 18-team Premier League table with 17 points from 10 matches, three less than table leaders and champions Kenya Police FC.

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