Kariobangi Sharks head coach William Muluya believes his side deserved to carry the day against Tusker during their 1-1 Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League draw at Ruaraka grounds on Saturday.

It was Tusker, who started the game on a high note with new signing Fabian Adikiny coming close to opening the scoring in the 25th minute with a free header before Sharks’ goalkeeper Bernard Jairo made two vital saves in the 32nd and 43rd minutes to keep his side in the game. However, the second half witnessed a shift in momentum as Sharks took an early lead in the 56th minute through Keith Imbali’s well-taken effort but the Brewers kept pressing and they were rewarded in the 82nd minute when Levin Opiyo’s cross into the area took a deflection off a Sharks defender to find the back of the net.

According to Muluya, his side should blame themselves for the shared points because they created many scoring chances in the first half which they could have converted into goals.

“In the first half we played the best football, we created many chances, we were on top of the game, we controlled Tusker but our main undoing was to score and kill off the game,” said Muluya, adding: “Had we taken good use of our first half chances, the result could have been very different in our favour.”

Muluya further admitted he was left gutted that his players could not stop Tusker from nicking the equalizer after they had taken the lead in the opening stages of the second half.

“We managed to score and take the lead ahead of them, but I was not happy because we crumbled under pressure and allowed them to get the leveler. Tusker is not a small team, and when playing against them, you must be very careful, you must guard your area well, but we never did that and they snatched the draw.”

Muluya further praised Tusker by saying: “Tusker is a team with a lot of history and they have quality players, last season they finished second on the table and whenever you have a chance to score against them, then it is good that you take it, our main undoing was missed chances.”

Sharks kicked off their season with a 0-0 draw against Kenya Police while Tusker defeated Bandari 1-0 way in Mombasa. After the Fifa break, Sharks will return to action against KCB at Utalii grounds on September 17 while the Brewers will travel to face Kakamega Homeboyz at Bukhungu Stadium.