‘We are having a bad patch’, says Akwa United’s Kelly Kester

Akwa United ‘are having a bad patch’, according to midfielder Kelly Kester following their 1-0 loss to MFM on Friday.

The Promise Keepers, coming from Sunday’s Caf Confederation Cup loss at home to Banjul Hawks, were again dealt another blow as a Sikiru Olatunbosun first-half strike saw them register back-to-back defeats.

Although Abdu Maikaba’s men dominated the Olukoya Boys at the Agege Stadium, they were unable to convert their numerous chances and the defensive midfielder put down to their recent ‘bad patch’.

“It’s obvious that we created a lot of chances but couldn't convert it and the only chance they had - it was actually a mistake - they scored from it,” Kester told Goal .

“It’s not blaming [the strikers], it’s a matter of making mistakes [in the final third]. We’ll learn from our mistakes and go better in subsequent games.

“We are having a bad patch at the moment and by the grace of God, and next game we hope we recover.”

Despite suffering a loss, the Federation Cup holders are still at the summit of the Nigeria Professional Football League with 16 points from eight games.

On their decisive Confederation Cup reverse fixture against Banjul Hawks in the Gambia, the former Enyimba player says: “We lost [2-1] at home after a lot of efforts, so we are going there [Gambia] with one mindset; to win and win convincingly so we would be able to qualify.”