The Brewers went into the game having played three matches, losing two and drawing one. They kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 defeat against KCB, suffered a 2-1 defeat against Posta Rangers before registering their first point of the season in a 0-0 draw against Mathare United.
Against Tore Bobe, Tusker found themselves trailing in the 19th minute when Austin Odongo pounced on a rebound from close range to find the back of the net. Tusker were not able to level matters in the first half as Shabana led 1-0 at the break.
The introduction of Ian Simiyu saved the day for Tusker. Just less than five minutes after coming on, Simiyu banged in the equaliser, pickpocketing Shabana defender Mark Okolla off the ball before slotting well past the keeper. It was a goal long coming, with Tusker having camped in Shabana’s half.
The Brewers had some good chances in the second half with Issa Lumumba and Dennis Iguma both having shots fly out wide, while Omolle had two precise deliveries low into the box roll across the face of goal begging for a touch.
Okere says everything will be ‘alright soon’
According to Okere, who has been under pressure following the poor start, Tusker fans should remain patient as he tries to revive the sinking ship.
“We went into the game wanting three points, but getting a point is also a good result considering we are in the early stages of the season, and for the fans we ask for patience, everything will be alright, we are going through a bad spell but it won’t take long,” said Okere.
“We have started to get the playing formula right, and I want to assure the fans the moment everything clicks, we will go far, we are in the race, and we will fight until the end.”
Discussing Simiyu’s leveller, Okere said: “I knew he will score when I brought him in, he is one of the players, who has shown great improvement since joining Tusker, he follows instructions, and he ended up scoring the goal which helped Tusker to snatch a draw, and reduce the pressure.”
He added: “We have cooled down the pressure, the start hasn’t been good enough, but we have to try as hard as we can to stop conceding. We had managed to keep a clean sheet against Mathare United, but we conceded today, so we must work on that. We have to give priority in terms of preventing goals, and at the same time sharpen our attack, so that we can score more goals and get three points.”
He concluded: “Tusker matches are always tough, and all our matches are like a final, so we want to take it a game at a time but for sure, one thing I know, we are on the right path and things will be positive soon.”
The draw left Tusker, who are the second most successful club in Kenya with thirteen Kenyan Premier League titles, in 16th position, one place above the relegation zone, with two points.
Shabana devastated to drop points despite leading
Shabana coach Peter Okidi was left frustrated following the outcome insisting his side deserved to carry home three points. He further said the withdrawal of injured striker Brian Michira, who was part of Kenya national team Harambee Stars squad for the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN), affected the team’s game plan.
“It was a good game, first half we dominated Tusker, but in the second half we got into their game allowing them back, and put ourselves under pressure,” Okidi told Flashscore.
“It is a result we didn’t plan for, we had come here with a mindset of getting three points, we have set a target of winning every game, and the draw is a result we didn’t want, and we also can’t afford to lose points when we are leading.
“I think we will have to work on conceding, if you look at the goal we conceded, it came out of nothing. We have dropped points as a team, we need to go and rectify the mistakes, and next time we make sure if we score, we add more goals to prevent the opponent from coming back.”
On the injury to Michira, Okidi conceded: “His injury came very early into the game, and we had to pull him out. I want to admit his exit affected our game plan, because mostly the team is built around Michira, so it spoiled our game plan because we never expected to replace him very early into the game.
“We hope the doctors will work on him and make sure he comes back even stronger, we need him 100 percent fit, to help us push for the title.”
The former Nakuru All Stars tactician concluded: “Our target was to go into the FIFA international break with maximum nine points, but it is devastating now after the Tusker game.
“We wanted to finish with nine points, we had the nine points already after taking the lead, but let Tusker back into the game, so we want to use the upcoming break to work on a few things, and hopefully Michira will be back, because we want to recover the lost points in our next game.”
Despite the draw, Shabana remained top of the 18-team league table with seven points.
