Bidco United head coach Anthony Akhulia has lamented what he describes as glaring mistakes following his team’s exit from the Mozzart Bet Cup after a defeat to KCB.United found themselves trailing 3-0 within the first 35 minutes of Saturday’s round of 16 game at the Police Sacco Grounds. Although they managed to stabilize in the second half, they ultimately bowed out of the Cup with a 3-1 loss.##NAJAVA_MECA_8002371##The result came as a surprise to many, as both teams had been struggling prior to the game. It was expected to be a closely contested match before Bernard Mwalala’s men secured victory and advanced to the quarterfinals.Bidco’s performance left Akhulia, who also serves as the Kenya U20 coach, shocked and frustrated. He had warned his players to be cautious, but they failed to heed his advice.“It’s shocking and frustrating because we conceded goals in the manner that I had warned my players about and prepared them to counter. KCB are very strong on the wings, and Kevin ‘Chumsy’ Okumu is very good with crosses. Part of the plan was to stop them; I told my players that we had to cut the supply of crosses and defend set pieces better. To my surprise, they did the opposite, and we conceded almost identical goals. It is disappointing,” he stated.Full-time Bidco United 1-3 KCB FCThe Bankers are through to the Mozzart Bet Cup quarters. #FootballKE pic.twitter.com/PQNrE7dutr— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) March 30, 2024 He added that the team did not adhere to instructions, which he found particularly frustrating.“As a coach, when you issue instructions, you expect the players to follow them to the letter. When they don’t, it is definitely disappointing because, in this case, it led us to lose heavily and exit the Mozzart Bet Cup—a tournament that we had hoped to progress far in this season. We now need to go back to the drawing board and plan for the remaining matches of the season,” he continued.The two teams will meet again on Sunday for a league assignment, and Akhulia is determined to make amends. However, he cautions his players that they will need to step up and execute the game plan effectively.“We have a league match on Sunday, and we just have to do the right thing and win the game. It will definitely not be easy, as KCB come into the game confident, but we have to perform well. My players need to understand that we need points, and that means performing better than we did in the Cup. They just have to step up; there is no two ways about it,” he added.Levin Odhiambo grateful to Tusker as he heads to Gor Mahia
