Kariobangi Sharks coach William Muluya took the blame after his side were knocked out of the Mozzart Bet Cup by KCB through penalties on Sunday.

Sharks and the Bankers had played to a 1-1 draw in regulation time, with back-to-back goals from KCB’s Derrick Otanga in the 77th minute and Sharks’ Fortune Omotto in the 79th minute.

The deadlock extended into extra time, and with both teams unable to find the back of the net, the game headed to penalties, in which, KCB emerged victorious, winning 4-2 and booking their slot in the finals. Speaking after the game, Muluya admitted to have made a costly blunder by making late substitutions with eyes on the penalties, which his side could not prevail.

“I must take the blame for the defeat, my decision to make substitutions in the closing stages did not work, of course, it is not a bad idea to make subs but as a coach, I should have prepared my players beyond penalties, I got it wrong tactically, especially in the second half,” said Muluya.

“I did not expect KCB to counter me tactically (after the changes) but sometimes it is football, and it is my blame, I should have done better, don’t blame anyone, don’t blame Kariobangi Sharks, it is my blame as the coach.”

Meanwhile, his KCB counterpart Bernard Mwalala was left on cloud nine after sailing into their first-ever domestic final and further insisted on their readiness to take on any team in the final.

“It is a good feeling for the team, especially after losing the title race, so we put our focus and strength of the cup and you can see today we did everything and we are one game away from being winners,” said Mwalala.

“We defended well and used our counter-attacks to perfection, our game plan worked and now we are ready to play anyone in the final, we don’t care who we play, we have worked for these and are ready to play and represent the country.”