Just like any other Bandari Football club fan, I am very worried with the team’s recent string of losses that I must admit have had a negative effect on the players’ confidence.
The team has been posting poor results recently, something that is of great concern ahead of the top of the table clash against rejuvenated AFC Leopards on Thursday in Mombasa.
The rains started beating the side when they heavily lost 4-2 to Horoya of Guinea in their Caf Confederation Cup play-off, first leg match in Conakry on October 27.
This was followed by yet another loss, a 1-0 beating in Nairobi on November 3 in the return leg, thereby kissing the tournament goodbye in utter disappointment.
Things have remained thick for my team Bandari that went ahead to lose back-to-back league matches. They lost to Western Stima 3-1 in Kisumu on November 6 and 1-0 to Ulinzi Stars in Nakuru on November 10.
I don’t want to blame fatigue for these losses because last season had more congested fixtures for Bandari which was coupled with injuries to our key players making life very difficult.
Battling Bandari however still managed a respectable second place finish.
It is reassuring that Bandari coach Bernard Mwalala is not happy with the way things are going at the club and has already read the riot act to the players. Shape up or ship out. That is very much in order. Mwalala is very categorical that results must start trickling in failure to which he has promised to crack the whip by dismissing non performers before he is fired.
As we speak, Bandari have been attracting a sizeable crowd at their Mbaraki Sports club backyard for the home matches. These very passionate fans have been digging deep to travel and cheer the team even when playing outside Mombasa.
The other thing with the coast fans, but just like other fans worldwide, is that they are never patient and will soon start baying for the players’, technical officials’ and management teams’ blood when the poor results start frustrating them.
That’s the time they will start cheering the team based on one’s ethnic background and colour and it’s the day they will start their unreasonable and unrealistic demands for a purely coastal technical bench and management team in pretext that they have been marginalised.
It is my hope and that of every genuine Bandari fan that the team will start winning immediately. That should be against a battle-hardened AFC Leopards so that the win heals the wounds already inflicted on the club’s suffering, victory starved fans.
I want to advice the Leopards brigade to come to Mombasa very prepared, knowing they will be playing wounded lions in no mood to spare any prey in the field.
