Sofapaka Coach Ezekiel Akwana has blamed poor officiating for his side’s 1-0 defeat to Kenya Police FC in a SportPesa League match played at the Police Sacco Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
The 2009 Kenya Premier League champions fell to a lone goal from their former striker Edward Omondi, who found the back of the net in the 40th minute after slotting past goalkeeper Edward Olak.
The goal was enough to hand Kenya Police their second win of the season and first win under New Head Coach Dusan Stojanovic Dejan, with goalkeeper Job Ochieng’ maintaining his fine form by keeping a fourth consecutive clean sheet.
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Sofapaka’s coach Akwana blames defeat on “poor officiating”
Speaking after the game, a visibly disappointed Akwana expressed frustration with the match officials, claiming that biased refereeing played a significant role in their defeat.
“Our greatest undoing today was the referee. The officiating was poor, he kept giving decisions that did not make sense. I even heard the linesman telling him ‘caution him,’ but he didn’t want to caution our opponents. Yet, anything against us, he reacted immediately,” Akwana lamented.
The tactician admitted that his team started the match slowly but recovered well in the second half. However, he maintained that the inconsistent officiating disrupted their rhythm
“We started badly but recovered in the second half. Still, the officiating was very poor today,” he added.
Akwana also noted that the fixture congestion had taken a toll on his players, as they had played Nairobi United just 3 days before, a game they won 3-0.
“We’ve had back-to-back games, and that also affected us. The players were a bit fatigued, which made us slow in the first half. We improved after the break but could not make our chances count,” said Akwana.
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Sofapaka’s captain, Victor Odhiambo, was forced off with an injury during the match, further complicating matters for Akwana’s side.
“Victor’s injury disrupted our plans. In the previous match, he was also struggling, and when he came off today, it affected our midfield balance. I had to move Roy Okal to defense and bring Japheth Mzungu deeper into midfield, which took time to stabilize,” he explained.
Despite the defeat, Akwana remains optimistic and has already shifted focus to their next SportPesa League formerly Kenya Premier League fixture against Posta Rangers, where he hopes his charges can bounce back and return to winning ways.
“We will work on recovery and come back stronger in the next match,” he concluded.