Mombasa United head coach Abdulhamid Moalin has blamed his side’s inexperience for their difficult start to life in the SportPesa League, insisting that his players need time to adjust to the demands of top-flight football.

The newly promoted side are yet to record a victory in their opening four matches of the 2026/27 campaign, having collected just one point from a possible 12.

Their latest setback came on Wednesday, October 28, when they suffered a 3-1 defeat to KCB, with Fortune Omotto scoring twice and Mambote Batshi Assis adding another goal for the bankers. Rashid Moyo scored Mombasa United’s consolation goal.

Despite the result, Moalin felt his team had shown enough quality during the match but pointed to lapses in concentration and a lack of experience in handling crucial moments as areas that need immediate improvement.

Speaking after the defeat, the former Yanga coach compared his players’ situation to that of footballers moving to a more demanding league, explaining that adapting to a new level of competition takes time.

“It’s experience. Sometimes in life, you go to a new league. If a player playing in the Kenyan Premier League goes to the German Bundesliga, he is going to require time to acclimatise and get used to things, especially how fast the game is. I think some of our players are going through that,” Moalin said.

The coach acknowledged that his squad has a mixture of young and experienced players but was reluctant to blame his charges for the disappointing results, maintaining that their performances have not been as poor as the results suggest.

“We have young players in the team, and we also have good, experienced players. But it’s not fair to say the players were bad because, if I say that, then I am saying they were not good enough, and that would not be fair to them,” he added.

Moalin believes the difference has been in the finer details of matches, particularly the ability to maintain concentration throughout the 90 minutes and avoid mistakes that opponents can punish.

“I think it’s the small details, concentration throughout the 90 minutes and never letting down. Those are the things we need to learn, and we need to learn quickly. But we move on,” he explained.

The Mombasa-based club began their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Kakamega Homeboyz on October 14 before losing 2-1 to Mara Sugar five days later. They picked up their first point after a goalless draw against Kenya Police on October 25, only to suffer another defeat against KCB.

With three defeats and one draw from their opening four outings, Mombasa United have scored twice and conceded six goals, leaving them with plenty of work to do as they seek to establish themselves in the top flight.

Moalin, however, knows that his side cannot afford to take too long to adjust, warning that the level of competition in the SportPesa League leaves little room for complacency.

“We have to understand that quickly. This is the SportPesa League, and every game is tougher than the next. Every opponent approaches the game in a different way,” he said.

Mombasa United will now have to work on their consistency and decision-making as they look to secure their first win of the season and gain confidence in their debut top-flight campaign.