Murang’a SEAL coach Juma Abdallah has embraced the FIFA international break as a much-needed respite for the team. Abdallah stated that his players are weary from the recent high-intensity matches in the FKF Premier League. This fatigue was apparent during Murang’a’s match against Ulinzi Stars on Monday at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
Abdallah remarked to Citizen Digital that his team struggled to keep up with the game’s pace, attributing this challenge to fatigue.
“This is our debut in the top tier League and I feel my players are tired after playing hard matches back to back,” said Abdallah.
“I saw my players dragging their feet especially in the last 20 minutes, I have been in this game for long and I can tell my boys are fatigued,” he added.
The former Bandari and Sofapaka coach admits that the upcoming one-week FIFA international break, will give his players a brief-breather after the tough fixtures in the recent weeks.
“We started by facing Gor Mahia, Tusker, Kariobangi Sharks and today we have played Ulinzi Stars, another formidable side,” he noted.
Though he congratulated his charges for getting a point away from home, he said his team could have defended their lead, after leading in the 57th minute through forward Joe Waithira’s goal. The lead was however cancelled 15 minutes later by former Tusker talisman Boniface Muchiri.
“Had we collected the three points, it would have been a morale booster as we head towards the end of the season, however, we will get back to the drawing board and work on protecting lead,” said Abdallah.
Since taking over in January, under Abdallah’s guidance, SEAL has secured three victories, drawn three matches, and suffered two losses. Prior to his arrival, the team had gone through a streak of 11 winless matches.
However, within four months of his tenure, Abdallah expressed satisfaction with his players, noting that they have adapted well to his preferred style of play.
