The presence of Equity Bank bosses in the Football Kenya Federation Cup third place playoff will go a long way in inspiring the history hunting players to fry Bidco and finish third, coach John Baraza has said.The division one side is scheduled to take on Bidco United in the playoff on Sunday at the Utalii grounds and later pave way for the final where traditional rivals AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia will battle for the bragging rights, Cup and the rights to represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup.Equity had their march to the final cut short by AFC Leopards who fought gallantly to edge them 6-5 on post match penalties in the semifinals while Bidco fell 4-1 to Gor Mahia in the penalties.Former Sofapaka FC head coach John Baraza has led Equity FC to the FKF Cup quarters. Equity is the only non-FKF PL team in the quarter finals.Meanwhile, Sofapaka, a team that controversial sacked him got knocked out in the round of 32.#FKFcup pic.twitter.com/2ik7oyP9NG— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) June 6, 2021 Ahead of the playoff, Baraza who has been plotting for victory at the Goan Institute grounds says that his players will draw the motivation to beat Bidco from their bosses who are expected to grace the match from the stands.”One of the reason to our impressive performance in the FKF Cup is our bosses have been turning up when we play. They are happy with the progress we have made.The players have been striving to lift high the brand and hopefully, the script will not be different in the playoff. It will be a tough match but we are ready. Fortunately, I don’t have any injury concerns ahead of the match, ” said the former Kenyan international.With the odds already stacked in favor of Bidco by virtue of the experience they have gained from rubbing shoulders with the big boys in the top flight, Equity head into the match as underdogs but Baraza thinks otherwise.Sunday’s FKF CUP final pitting AFC Leopards against Gor Mahia will now be played at Utalii Grounds and not Ruaraka Grounds as earlier planned.The match will be preceded by Third position playoff between Equity FC and Bidco United.The winner walks home with Ksh. 2 M.#FKFCUP pic.twitter.com/95DG7zYd2Y— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) June 29, 2021 The former Sofapaka coach says his players are unfazed of taking on their experienced opponents who have punched above their weights in their maiden season at the top level.”My boys are now used to tackling big teams. If we managed to contain former champions Bandari and Gor Mahia in the previous rounds then I don’t see a reason why the players should be afraid of confronting Bidco. We respect them but don’t fear them at all, ” he added.
