Gor departs tomorrow for Dar-es-salaam
Three Gor Mahia players in Harambee stars
Kogalo players: Julius Owino(far left) , Kevin Omondi (2nd left) and George Odhiambo (2nd right)
Three Kogalo players, Julius Owino, Kevin Omondi and George Odhiambo will travel with the national team which is to face Guinea Bissau in a Nations cup qualifier this weekend. All three started the friendly match against Tanzania 2 weeks ago and all three have a chance of starting or seeing some action this weekend. For Blackberry and Kevin, this is their first full FIFA internationals. Blackberry has played in the CECAFA cup and in a series of friendlies. Kevin Omondi has only played in friendlies. For him, it is quite an achievement to make it into the national team only one year removed from secondary school when he captained Langata high to the national title. Yet his lack of experience has not overawed him. Indeed Omondi has impressed whenever he has won the national team colours.
Other Gor Mahia ties in the team : Norway based goalkeeper Arnold Origi is the son of former Kogalo captain, the legendary Austin “Makamu” Oduor who skippered the club in the late 1980s, the clubs glory years. Also as is well known, Dennis Oliech is the younger sibling of former Gor Mahia striker Steve Okumu who played for the club in the 1990s and Andrew Oyombe who featured for Kogalo 2 years ago.
Red Berets hold Kogalo
Gor Mahia’s hopes of winning the league title took a slight dent when they were held to a goalless draw by Red Berets at the City Stadium on Sunday. Red Berets have proven to be a hard nut to crack of late having held Kogalo 1-1 in the first leg.
On Sunday, Red Berets played a defensive game, parking the bus in front of goal and managed to absorb intense pressure from Gor Mahia particularly in the second half. The red Berets keeper pulled off spectacular saves from efforts by Blackberry and Kevin Omondi.
Gor Mahia are now placed in 4th position with 38 points
Gor Mahia sink Rangers
Two first half goals enabled Kogalo to sink league debutants Posta Rangers 2-0 in a match played before a large crowd at the Nairobi city stadium.
Les Camerounais Baldwin Ngwa scored found the back of the net for the 3rd succesive game when he finished off a move involving Blackberry, Ivan Anguyo and Makori after only 7 minutes. The forwardline combination of Blackberry and the hard working Ngwa has been as explosive as dyamite of late. The second goal came from a penalty converted by captain Julius Owino. The penalty resulted when Blackberry who has been a thorn in the flesh of opposing defences lately was fouled.
In the second half the Kogalo defence marshalled by keeper Jerim Onyango stood firm to stave off a series of attacks from Posta Rangers.
The win plus some convenient results from their rivals enabled Kogalo to continue its march up the league standings. They are now second, tied with Tusker on points.
Highlights of Gor Mahia Vs Mathare
Hassan Jumaa atoa ripoti moja kwa moja kutoka uwanja wa uga wa City huko ma supporter wa Kogalo wakishabikia timu hii
Gor Mahia disarm soldiers
Gor Mahia won a crucial battle over the high flying soldiers of Ulinzi in midweek match played at the Nyayo national stadium on Wednesday night, beating them 2-0. Kogalo indeed appeared superior to the soldiers in all facets of the game especially in midfield where Kevin Omondi and Collins Okoth excelled, the former having gained a boost of confidence after having been promoted to the national team.
Le Camerounais Baldwin Ngwa found the back of the net for the second succesive game giving Gor Mahia a much deserved lead early in the first half. Gor Mahia continued to press with Blackberry Odhiambo coming close on several occassions. But the score remained 1-0.
Early in the second half, midfielder Collins Okoth was given his marching orders by a hasty referee Isaac Ochieng. Coach Zedekiah Otieno Zico was also sent off for protesting as irate fans let their frustrations at the referee be known. Some referees unfortunately like to bring attention to themselves. Gor Mahia were man down and without their coach but they never stopped pressing. They were eventually reward with a second goal via George Odhiambo “Blackberry” who evaded the entire Ulinzi defence to score an instant classic. Ulinzi tried to pull one back and came close but the defence marshalled by keeper Jerim Onyango amd Eric Masika stood firm.
Its fair to say Kogalo are in a form the fans havent seen since 1997. They are now perched in 4th position, only four points behind the league leaders. The match was graced by Welsh and Liverpool legend Ian Rush who had to have been impressed by the show Kogalo put on. It must have been reminiscent of the great star studded Liverpool teams of the late 80s which Rush led.
Kogalo come back storming
Despite all the controversy Gor Mahia have had to deal with, the lack of four key players who travelled with the national junior team to Eritrea, the lack of practice time for four other key players who travelled with the national team to Tanzania for an international friendly, despite the harsh treatment meted out by both KPL and FKL, Gor Mahia managed to pull off a tie against city rivals Mathare United.
Mathare had taken the lead in the 16th minute as Kogalo defence seemed out of sorts in the first half. The second half saw the introduction of new national team cap Kevin Omondi. He played a role in the equalizing goal starting a move that included Collins Okoth and Duncan Makori and ended with Camerounais Baldwin Ngwa finishing with aplomb.
Gor Mahia to go on with KPL matches after all
Remembering Abbass Khamis Magongo
Rarely does a player have an impact on a club and its fans the way Abbass Khamis Magongo had on Gor Mahia and its fans in the years from 1984 and 1991. Ask any longtime Kogalo fan to pick the best all time player of the club and they will more than likely name the man fondly known as “Zamalek”. As any Kenyan fan and supporter of Harambee stars who the best midfielder ever to play for Kenya is and they will most likely say Abbass Khamis Magongo. Indeed the above two sentiments are confirmed by online polls.
But one thing hardly anyone knows about this legend is that he was Tanzanian. Yes indeed the greatest midfielder Kenya ever produced was Tanzanian. He grew up in Mwanza, Tanzania where he started his career playing alongside another Tanzanian legend, Ahmed Amasha. Magongo first gained fame as a youngster playing for Pamba FC of Shinyanga in the Tanzanian top flight. He came from a footballing family. Two of his brothers, Ibrahim Magongo and Shafie Magongo were also prominent in the Tanzanian league at the time. It was in a match against Pamba of Mwanza that Magongo received a red card for apparently slapping his brother Ibrahim Magongo who was playing for the opposing team. Magongo never returned to Pamba and instead chose to flee to Kenya where he joined Gor Mahia at the beginning of 1984.
That was not the first time nor the last time Magongo was to receive a red card for reacting in haste. Behind that brilliant smile and huge afro was a fiery temper that often lashed out. But when Magongo was on his game, he was a joy to watch. He routinely toyed with opponents with a series of clever flicks, chips and deft touches. He was the Kenyan version of Zinedine Zidane. His passes were exquisite. But unlike Zidane, Magongo was often the hardest worker on the field and perhaps the fittest. He seemed to cover every blade of grass on the pitch, playing a pivotal role in attack while falling back to support the defence as needed. Indeed one remembers the KBC radio announces often remarking “Abbass Magongo anatawala uwanja mzima“.
When Magongo played his first game for Kogalo in January of 1984, it was in a pre-season friendly. He immediately won the hearts of fans leaving the Kogalo faithful excited about the prospects of the forthcoming season where they figured he would partner with Charles Otieno the man described as “the Engine” by coach Len Julians. But Charlie was to be poached by Kenya Breweries. Still Kogalo never lost a beat. With John Okello “Zangi” and George Onyango “Fundi” a new signing from Bandari(then known as Cargo) , Magongo formed a brilliant midfield that was key in helping Kogalo retain the national league.
In April of 1984, Gor Mahia played in the first round of the Africa Champions cup against Yanga of Tanzania. Magongo was to return to his old stomping grounds and he indeed gave his fellow Tanzanians quite a few lessons as he helped steer Kogalo to a 2-1 aggregate win over the Tanzanian champions. It was during the second round encounter that he earned the nickname Zamalek. It occurred as Gor Mahia faced Egyptian champions Zamalek in the 2nd round of the champions cup in Cairo. The game was still scoreless after 40 minutes. As the Egyptians attacked, Magongo tracked back and tackled an Egyptian player outside the penalty box. But the Egyptian rolled into the penalty box and the referee awarded Zamalek a penalty much to the chagrin of Kogalo players who surrounded the referee to protest. Magongo was given a red card and Gor Mahia were suspended from continental matches. Magongo went on to play pivotal role in helping Kogalo win the league in 1984.
Magongo (#16) tracking back to help keeper Tirus Omondi and sweeper Austin Oduor
But 1985 was probably his best year. That year he scored no less than 15 goals in the national league from his midfield linkman position. Indeed Magongo had a knack to score goals with amazing efficiency. Despite his slight physique, he had a powerful shot. He had a knack for surprising opposing keepers with sudden unexpected shots from impossible angles or while out of shooting position. The most memorable match of the 1985 season was the derby against AFC Leopards on Madaraka day when Magongo silenced AFC with two goals. Then there was the friendly match against Fortuna Dusseldorf which at the time played in the German Bundesliga. Magongo scored the winner as Gor Mahia won 1-0. By now there was general consensus that he was indeed the best player in the national league, adored by fans and feared by opponents.
In 1986 he finally earned a call up to the national team. For 2 years there had been a clamour amongst local fans for Magongo to be called up to the national team. What most did not know was that he did not have a Kenyan passport. He was a key member of the national team in the years between 86 and 1991 especially under coach Mohammed Kheri who deemed Magongo as his most valuable player. In 1987 he was key in steering Gor Mahia to victory in the 1987 Africa cup winners cup. In the final round, Gor Mahia first played Esperance of Tunisia in Tunis. Magongo scored the match opener with a brilliant sole effort in which he outwitted several Esperance defenders before beating the keeper with a well placed tap in. In the return leg in Nairobi, a well taken corner kick by Magongo was headed in by Peter Dawo.
In 1988 his fiery temper was on display yet again when Harambee stars toured Brazil. National team coach Chris Makhoha and manager Joe Kadenge accused Magongo of being the ring leader in a player mutiny. In reality Magongo was never passive about fighting for players rights. Magongo was dropped from the national team that was due to play in the Africa nations cup. He was however able to showcase his skills in the 1990 Africa nations cup where he played all three games.
Magongo was to stay at Gor Mahia until 1991 when he left to try his luck in Oman along with several other Kenyan players such as Austin Oduor, Mickey Weche, and Henry Motego. He returned to Kogalo briefly in 1994 and even featured in a rematch with Zamalek in a 1994 CAF cup match.
After retiring from active football, Magongo played for Wazee wa Kazi in the late 90s. Sadly he passed away in Malindi in 2003.
Story by Muroro-Pacho
Milimani-Strathmore
Kogalo players named to National team
Three Kogalo players, Kevin Omondi, George Odhiambo and Julius Owino have been named to the national team squad to face the Tanzania Taifa stars on Wednesday of next week. The was squad named by Twahir Muhiddin on Thursday.
Of the three, Julius Owino has the most international experience having featured prominently in all of the World Cup qualifiers. Blackberry featured prominently in the CECAFA cup and in the CHAN qualifiers against Uganda. Kevin Omondi who was the star of last years national secondary school championships will be making his national team debut. Left out is Peter Opiyo who is said to be on trials in South Africa.
The full squad is :
Goalkeepers: Wilson Oburu (Sofapaa) Lawrence Webo
(Leopards) Defenders: Ibrahim Shikanda (Azam) Julius Owino (Gor), Edgar Ochieng (Sofapaka), Mulinge Ndetto (Ulinzi) Lloyd Wahome (Mathare United) George Owino (Sofapaka)
Mid-fielders: Macdonald Mariga (Inter-Milan) Kevin Omondi, George Odhiambo, (Gor) Victor Mugabe (Belgium) Paul Were (Tusker) Patrick Osiako (Sweden
) and James Situma (Sofapaka)
Strikers: Dennis Oliech (Auxerre), Allan Wanga and John Baraza (Sofapaka).
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