Kakamega Homeboyz coach Patrick Odhiambo believes their 1-0 FKF Premier League defeat against promoted side Murang’a Seal FC should serve as a wake-up call to his players ahead of their next matches in the 2023-24 campaign.

Abana Baingo returned to the top-flight following their exit from the Caf Confederation Cup with an away defeat after Murang’a Seal scored in the 89th minute Titus Kapchanga to bag maximum points. Homeboyz were yet to play in the league as they saw their opening fixture against KCB shelved to allow them to face Al Hilal Benghazi in the return leg of the inter-club competition.

However, Homeboyz suffered a 4-1 humiliating defeat to exit the competition on a 4-1 aggregate scoreline, having settled for a 0-0 draw in the first leg contest at Nyayo Stadium. And their return to the league action was not what they could expect as Murang’a continued with their fine start to the campaign with the slim win.

“It was not the kind of start I was looking for and it is not good for us to start as we did,” admitted Odhiambo, adding: “Losing the opener is not a positive thing and this should be a wake-up call to my players, we need to understand where we got it wrong and react as quickly as we can.”

On the game, Odhiambo said: “To me, I think we put up a good display, created numerous chances that we could not put away and Murang’a Seal having already played in the league (against Shabana) looked a bit organised, they got their chance and took it, so it was a difficult game, decided by one goal but I insist my players should look beyond the game with a positive reaction.”

Odhiambo further welcomed the Fifa international break saying it will give his team time to digest the defeat and work on the mistakes they committed before their second match of the season.

“The Fifa break has come at a good time for us, we need to relook at how we played against Murang’a and see where we went wrong, we need to rectify the mistakes as quickly as we can in readiness for our next matches, we will use the break for so many things, but most important digest the outcome of the defeat.”

After the Fifa break, Homeboyz will return to action with a home game against Tusker at Bukhungu Stadium on September 17. Tusker kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 victory against Bandari before settling to a 1-1 draw against Kariobangi Sharks.