AFC Leopards skinned by Ulinzi Stars to pile more pressure on beleaguered coach Tomas Trucha

AFC Leopards skinned by Ulinzi Stars to pile more pressure on beleaguered coach Tomas Trucha

Joel Omotto 18:18 - 03.11.2024

AFC Leopards coach Tomas Trucha will face further questions from supporters after his team lost a second straight match, following defeat to Ulinzi Stars in Meru.

AFC Leopards’ poor run of form continued when they suffered a second straight league loss following a 2-0 defeat away to Ulinzi Stars on Sunday.

Ingwe headed into the match with pressure on coach Tomas Trucha from fans who had given him an ultimatum but he watched on as his team suffered back-to-back losses in Meru on Sunday.

After a goalless first half, Yakeen Mutheli broke the deadlock for Ulinzi in the 67th minute and held onto their lead until very late when they notched a second goal through Boniface Muchiri to kill off any hopes of a Leopards comeback.

It was a disappointing outing for Leopards who paid the price for the absence of some of their star players after Kennedy Owino, Victor Omune and Julius Masaba were suspended while Sydney Lokake was not involved for unclear reasons.

Leopards struggled to enforce themselves on their opponents and crumbled when Ulinzi asked the questions, leaving them without a win in their last three games.

Ingwe have been bedeviled with internal problems both in the squad and in the boardroom and it seems to be spilling onto the pitch.

Owino, Omune and Masaba are suspended for two weeks, for featuring in an unsanctioned match, while Lokale, the club’s leading scorer, was dropped for what was described as “tactical reasons.”

The defeat will increase pressure on Trucha, whose team has now slipped to fifth position on 10 points from seven matches, seven behind league leaders KCB, although Leopards have a match in hand over the bankers.

Ulinzi, meanwhile, made it back-to-back wins to move to seventh position on the log with nine points.