AFC Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems has highlighted the disparity that is currently between his Ingwe side and record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia ahead of the two teams’ 90th meeting in the Mashemeji Derby set for Wednesday afternoon at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.Due to arrears owed to former managers and players, Ingwe were served with a transfer ban that ensured the club was and is still unable to register any new faces despite seeing a mass exodus of their experienced players who managed to lift them to a fourth place finish in the 2020/2021 campaign.The eagle has landed! 🦅Welcome back, @PatrickAussems 🤝#Ingwe pic.twitter.com/2dLhitpq6i— AFC Leopards (@AFCLeopards) October 2, 2021 While the same transfer ban situation threatened to hit the green side of K’Ogalo, the 19 time champions managed to make some quick signings of over ten players when they got some breathing space in the transfer window after their ban was lifted before being re-imposed after yet another impending case emerged.##NAJAVA_MECA_5912945##Heading into the derby which will also be officially the first for Aussems since taking over at the den, the Belgian tactician cut a wary figure as he bemoaned his lean squad that has limited options.“To be honest with you, I am not focusing on the opponent. I am just focusing about my team. I know for the fans it is a derby but to be honest, in the situation right now, you cannot compare Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards because they were allowed to recruit and have some new players while we do not have. We have been working with our youth team for a month because we do not have any other players right now. Despite that we posted two good performances, a victory against Tusker and a draw against KCB, where the players respected the instructions,” the former Simba boss told Mozzart Sport.UP NEXT #MashemejiDerby #OursForever pic.twitter.com/py9lQCmiC3— AFC Leopards (@AFCLeopards) October 19, 2021 Despite the gloomy atmosphere that surrounds Ingwe due to being unable to register new faces, the club has managed to remain water tight as they have impressively kept two clean sheets in the two games they played against the best two teams from last season, Tusker and KCB. Performances that Aussems hopes will spur the team to give their very best in the derby with bragging rights at stake for the most loyal of fanbases.“We will try to keep clean sheets and to keep the good organization we have had because it is very important. We know will face some trouble because we have a young and experimental squad and we are bound to struggle. Apart from that I am happy that we will play on a good pitch at Kasarani. I know it is a special match for the players and I hope they will give 100% and come the end of the 95 or so minutes, I hope my players will come back to the dressing room having given their best efforts,” the head coach added.FULL TIME WHAT A WIN 🔥🔥🔥🔥AFC Leopards 1 Tusker FC 0⚽️ Saad Muosa #OursForever#INGWE pic.twitter.com/CMvMB1nn73— AFC Leopards (@AFCLeopards) September 26, 2021 At the touchline, the head coach will be hoping to steer Leopards to a first win in the derby since their last victory that came back in 2016 in a 0-1 win.The match kicks off at 1500EAT. (function (el) { window.addEventListener(“message”, (event) => { if (event.origin.startsWith(“https://www.sofascore”)) { if (el.id === event.data.id) { el.style.height = event.data.height + “px”; } } }); })(document.getElementById(“sofa-standings-embed-17654-38844”)); Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore
