Nairobi, KENYA: The much talked of Mashemeji derby pitting the two most successful clubs in the country, turned out to be a one sided affair with Gor Mahia romping to a comfortable 3-0 victory over rivals AFC Leopards at the Nyayo National stadium on Sunday.
Just like the downhearted Leopards fans, head coach Stewart Hall too found it sour to chew as he singled inexperience among his players as the cause of their humiliation.
The Briton admitted his side was outclassed especially in the first quarter of the clash where Leopards players did little but watched their rivals dominate the proceedings in all aspects.
Expressing his disgruntled-ness, Hall even joked he could have repaid Leopard fans of their tickets claiming they do not deserve such mortification in an encounter of that caliber.
“Most of my players haven’t played in this derby compared to Gor Mahia’s, we couldn’t match them in the first 15 minutes. While we were running like scared rabbits, they got on top of the game mentally, physically and tactically,” Hall admitted.
His opposite number Jose Marcelo Ze Maria was full of praise for his players for showing maturity and playing like champions to reward their faithful fans after losing 1-0 to Thika United in the previous match.
“Our fans deserves the victory, they have been loyal to us even when we are not performing. Credit goes to my players for showing maturity to emerge top in a match of such magnitude,” said the Brazilian.
The defeat saw Leopards dropped to eighth on 14 points in the table standings, five points adrift of second placed Gor Mahia who is two points shy of leaders Posta Rangers after nine rounds.
