Coach Pieter Hendrick De Jongh’s held his first Pre-Match press briefing in Upper Hill on Friday ahead of the weekend match.
Here are the key talking points at the AFC Leopards v Tusker Pre-match press conference:-
We have a big match against Tusker FC on Sunday. We are preparing well for the match and we hope to win. We are aware that Tusker is a good team. They have a strong squad and very powerful midfielders but we are ready for them. We beat them 1-0 in the first leg but were unfortunate to lose to them in the Top 8 Final at Kinoru.
Coach Pieter Hendrick De Jongh’s held his first Pre-Match press briefing in Upper Hill on Friday ahead of the weekend match.
Here are the key talking points at the AFC Leopards v Tusker Pre-match press conference:-
We have a big match against Tusker FC on Sunday. We are preparing well for the match and we hope to win. We are aware that Tusker is a good team. They have a strong squad and very powerful midfielders but we are ready for them. We beat them 1-0 in the first leg but were unfortunate to lose to them in the Top 8 Final at Kinoru. We are hoping to beat them and close that gap on Sunday.
TEAM NEWS:
The team is fine in all departments. We have a few players who are not 100% but we will keep assessing them before the match day. Bernard Mang’oli is recovering from malaria but trained with us yesterday. We hope he keeps on improving before match day. We know that Bernard is a very important player for us and has played really well in the recent matches. He is an important member of the squad and we just hope he becomes 100% on Sunday.
James Situma is not 100% fit. He is working hard to be match fit by Sunday. The medical staff are working hard to have him available for selection.
I have also contacted the team doctor this morning and he has told me that Joseph Wanyonyi is not feeling well. He is also down with malaria and may not be ready to play on Sunday.
We have some good news for Edward Seda, who has been working hard in the last few weeks and is available for selection on Sunday. He is a player with quality and we hope that he brings in the much needed spark in the remaining matches.
ABOUT THE MATCH
Sunday’s game is open and both sides are having a good run. We will try everything possible to win and put pressure on Tusker and all other teams that are ahead of us on the log.
ABOUT THE MOOD IN THE CAMP
Everyone is happy and looking forward to winning the match. Before this year, we had not beaten Tusker for 16 years and I think we can do a double on them.
ABOUT THE FANS
I have really enjoyed the support of the fans. They always rally behind the team and this helps the boys a lot. They are the 12th man and I ask them to come in large numbers to support the team on Sunday because it is a very important match.
ABOUT THE U19
The future of the club is having a good youth structure. The U-19 team will be very good and I believe in young players. That is the future of the team. I wish the coach of the Under 19 Mr. Francis Xavier the very best. I will work with him to ensure that this project succeeds beyond the KPL U19 tournament.
James Situma and Jacob Keli expressed confidence ahead of the match.
” Our strikers are scoring goals and that has reduced pressure on us. We have depth in the team. The match against Tusker will be tough but as a unit we are ready,” Situma said.
” AFC Leopards is a big club in Kenya. The pressure to perform is there but I have to give my best and Sunday is a day just for that,”Keli added.
