Kenya Police head coach Francis Baraza was left a disappointed man as his side ‘dropped two points’ in the FKF Premier League following a tense 1-1 draw with rivals Ulinzi Stars at the Nyayo National Stadium on Friday afternoon.One reason for him to take the point – their 57th this season and one that pushed them three points clear of fifth-placed KCB – with a pinch of salt was that Police were leading at some point in the game, but somehow conjured up a way not to add a win to their column.##NAJAVA_MECA_7283737##“I felt as if we got a bit complacent,” a visibly unhappy Baraza told the media after the game. “I had done everything to prepare my team for this game during training and for us to give away a lead, I am left disappointed as a coach.”Kenya Police, after numerous visits to the Ulinzi goal, finally took the lead just inside the half-hour mark as Elvis Rupia muscled his way past Bonventure Muchika before lashing a low right-foot shot that had the side anticipating a third win on the bounce.It was not to be, however, as Stephen Etyang made amends for Ulinzi with a 69th-minute equalizer that saw both sides register another draw, having shared the spoils in the league last January.Jeshi kaponea chupu chupuFull-time Ulinzi Stars FC 1 – 1 Kenya Police FC31′ Rupia ⚽️@betikaKe @748AirServices @DTBduo pic.twitter.com/WiW0r6o47d— KENYA POLICE FC (@kenyapolicefc) May 26, 2023 “I don’t know what happened to the players,” Baraza tried to make sense of a rather off-color second half. “We lost belief immediately after Ulinzi scored and you could sense that a team that knew they were going to lose had finally woken up and frustrated us all the way.”Boasting a league-high 41 goals this campaign, it was expected that the Law Enforcers were going to score more on the day but ended up going through the team’s missed chances in the first half.“At the end of the day we missed lots of opportunities and clear ones [inside the box] and that has gone on to cost us points,” the former Kagera Sugar coach said. “I have spoken to the players in the brief team meeting and all we need to do is focus and bounce back.”Ulinzi stage comeback to hold Police as forces derby ends in another stalemateAsked about his approach in the remaining games to close out the season, Baraza cited ‘initiating work’ in all departments – paying much attention to his rearguard.“We’ve seen it again today, we continue to concede goals from set pieces, and that has to change moving forward,” he added.Kenya Police will now focus on their upcoming fixtures against Posta Rangers, KCB and Vihiga Bullets, as they seek to ‘close out their target’ – fourth place on the FKFPL standings.
