Mathare United players will have to firmly embrace team work if they are to get the better of champions Tusker when the two teams clash on Thursday afternoon at Ruaraka grounds, coach Ezekiel Akwana has said.The slum boys have been reduced to punching bags recently, losing five out of their last six league matches a run that has increasingly put them at the risk of spending the better part of the remainder of the season battling relegation.Impeccable sources at the club indicate that the poor show on the pitch has largely been contributed by lack of finances with reports further indicating that the disgruntled players have been giving training sessions wide berths.🚨 | It’s Matchday! 🆚 @tusker_fc 📍 Ruaraka grounds ⌚ 3️⃣pm 🏆 Premier League ~ For the final time in 2021, it’s matchday😊. Let’s pull up for this one and close out the year in fashion together 💪🏿#GreatnessWithin #TuskerVsMathare pic.twitter.com/PpuJP7HUC8— Mathare United FC (@MathareUtd) December 30, 2021 With a win set to temporarily relieve the pressure of slumping deeper into the red zone, Akwana says that his boys have the potential of upsetting the champions and finish what has been a tough year with shoulders high.However, the former Sofapaka coach says his aspirations will only come to pass if the team will change tact and adopt the style of defending and attacks as a unit.1.45 Tusker 3.90 Mathare United 7.50″One of the reason as to why we have been dropping points in the past games is we have not been playing as a team. It is impossible not to concede when you leave the four-man backline to defend throughout the game. For the training sessions we had, we worked on how to go search for goals as a team and defend as one, ” said the ex Kenyan international.Similarly, Tusker will also be hoping to redeem themselves from the 1-0 defeat suffered in the hands of Kakamega Homeboyz on the eve of Christmas and finish the year just a place outside the top ten bracket.⌛️| Plotting for Mathare. pic.twitter.com/bszYLJhmXI— 🏆Tusker FC (@tusker_fc) December 29, 2021 The brewers who recruited heavily in the last transfer window have been inconsistent in the last eight matches they have played, losing half of them, winning three and sharing points once.The stormy start has certainly been giving coach Robert Matano sleepless nights given the quality in his camp but his defender Christopher Oruchum believes that a win over Mathare will get pressure off the team.Match Day🆚| Mathare United🏟️| Ruaraka Complex⏰| 3pm EAT#KenyaMilele #Brewers4Life pic.twitter.com/3ocoEOMxwj— 🏆Tusker FC (@tusker_fc) December 30, 2021 The former AFC Leopards centre back who shared his frustration with the fruitless trip to Kakamega has backed the team to get back to winning ways. “It is really a bitter pull to swallow because we were buoyed for the match and we knew a win would have given us momentum. We didn’t handle the match well especially the first quarter. As much as it is a bitter pill to swallow, we need to bounce back as a team, ” said the former Thika United defender on the club’s website.
