Crucial win for Gor Mahia over Tusker: 2-0
Gor Mahia hammered Tusker 2-0 in what can only be characterized as one of the most important wins of 2017. At the start of the week, Kogalo were nine points ahead of Tusker. Then came a high court ruling that nullified results against Nakumatt and Zoo Kericho. Based on this ruling, Gor Mahia’s leaf over Tusker was now only six points. It was therefore critical for Kogalo to beat Tusker on Saturday. That they did, winning 2-0 with goals from Meddie Kagere and George Odhiambo Blackberry.
Additional Reporting from Sportpesa news
Gor Mahia FC all but sealed the 2017 SportPesa Premier League (SPL) title when they beat champions Tusker FC 2-0 in a water-logged Kericho Green Stadium on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Kakamega Homeboyz FC did Gor a huge favour by sinking their closest challengers, Sofapaka FC 2-1 while stuttering Posta Rangers FC were forced to yet another stalemate when relegation-threatened Thika United FC rallied for a 1-1 draw.
Victory against the side that dethroned them from the crown last season saw Gor who are bidding to extend their SPL title record to 16 stretch their tally to 54 points, a yawning 15 ahead of the Brewers whose latest resurgence was halted on its tracks.
Meddie Kagere opened the scoring for K’Ogalo in the 19th minute before in form George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo put the result beyond doubt in the 56th in a symbolic result that signified the passing of the mantle from the Ruaraka-based Tusker to the team that has won it 15 times in their glittering history.
It was a welcome return to pitch action after Kericho Green official residents. Zoo Kericho FC and fellow top-flight first timers, Nakumatt FC were suspended from the competition on Friday after the High Court in Nairobi ruled against the 18-team SPL.
Football Kenya Federation is set to appeal the verdict delivered by Justice John Mativo at the Court of Appeal and pending the outcome of the legal process, possible intervention of world governing body, FIFA as well as the redistribution of points won against Zoo and Nakumatt if the challenge fails means Gor could wait a while before uncorking the champagne.
Tusker lined up David Okello between the sticks while Lloyd Wahome and Eugene Asike operated at the back while Collins Shivachi and James Situma were charged with providing ammunition from the right and left full back positions.
Ugandan import, Hashim Sempala was tasked with the donkey work at the middle of the park in partnership with Humphrey Mieno. Allan Wanga completed a 4-3-3 formation that also had Paul Odhiambo and Danson Kago upfront.
Gor boss, Dylan Kerr, made two changes to the team that battled to a goalless draw with Thika last weekend with Francis Kahata and Jacques Tuyisenge starting in place of Philemon Otieno and Timothy Otieno.
Boniface Oluoch kept his place in goal with skipper Musa Mohammed marshalling the defence.
Gor, playing a league match for the first time at the venue, started on a sound by pinning Tusker in their own half as heavy rains pounded Kericho.
Collins Shivachi came to the Brewers rescue in the eighth minute when he cleared a goal bound shot but the reprieve was short lived when Kagere put dominant Gor to the lead.
In an effort to take advantage of the slippery conditions, Sempala unleashed a long-range shot in the 21st hoping to catch Oluoch out but the effort sailed over before Mieno came closer in the 34th but his finish from close range skewed wide.
Tusker were dealt an injury blow a minute to the break after Odhiambo was withdrawn due to injury with George ‘Best’ Nsimbe bringing on Ghanaian forward Stephen Owusu in his place.
Gor dominated the first half but Tusker came back a rejuvenated side at the restart but their momentum was cut short when Odhiambo buried a set piece from the edge of the box when Tuyisenge was fouled.
The match petered out as a contest following the second goal until when Kagere drove down the midfield to put through compatriot Tuyisenge but the latter was denied by a hawk-eyed Okello.
Boniface Muchiri almost halved the deficit but his free kick from the edge of the box fizzled narrowly wide.
Nsimbe sent in Michael Khamati for Jackson Macharia before Kerr sought to bolt the back by bringing on two defensive midfielders in Jean Baptiste Mugiraneza and Philemon Otieno for Odhiambo and Kenneth Muguna.
The rain finally stopped with 11 minutes from full time but the fog did not lift from Tusker as they surrendered to defeat.
Gershon Likonoh opened the scoring for Rangers at Ruaraka Grounds when he turned in a trademark long throw in from Luke Ochieng only for Suleiman Ngotho to level matters a minute later for Thika mid first half as the home side stretched their wretched run without victory to nine.
At the Mumias Sports Complex, danger man Umaru Kasumba continued his hot streak in the SPL when he put Sofapaka ahead only for their former servant, Wycliffe Opondo, to equalise for Homeboyz as the sides went in for the break at 1-1.
Jeremiah Wanjala, who is also on a rich vein of form, settled the game when he notched the winner in the 53rd as the winners consolidated third.
Saturday’s SPL results left Gor 12 clear of Sofapaka (42), the same tally with Homeboyz with Kariobangi Sharks FC (39) leading the chasing pack in fourth.
Please High Court,football matters are arbitrated outside courts of law like SDT or Fifa Court of Arbitration.WE EARNED nine points on the field of play and need them back.We cant have laboured for nothing,bring back Nakumatt & Zoo Kericho snc we settled that tired old 16 vs 18 teams long ago.Dont reopen that Pandoras Box
Marching on guys, gini wanyalo kawo. Any lawyerly mind please let me understand what will happen since some one got maximum points against the dropped teams, some lost points against them. What will happen. Again the lower league is nearing conclusion, so where do they drop to?
Well done players & TB. Unfortunately for Mugabe & Co. the players and TB continued & sustained wins negatively affects the “cut” bloated EC allocates itself. Stories za “architectural plans na building stadiums” ni badaye after paying players all their dues first. Truth be told these are ghost projects that cannot be given priority over players & T.B welfare (Goose that lays the golden egg). Jasego, that’s a serious observation, better to complete the 18 league and revert to 16 in 2018.FKF on its part should have respected the MOU. Wrong to disregard all running contracts of previous office. Nyamweya is simply revenging because Soprano Man,rightly, rejected his kes.30M dubious claim for a refund “eti his personal money used to pay FKF expenses when he was chairman”. I fear what Mugabe could have gotten GMFC into given his opaque style mara stadium,mara club house,mara huge debts, office and training ground rent, bonuses not paid yet we have a running kes.65M sponsorship & other sources of income.
@Oduor12, you have been too much with abusive language. Who has stopped you and your preferred friends from contesting for the chairmanship or any other position in the club. You have taken such childish position for too long and the person you have been abusing is fully in charge of the club. All these negative postings reflect yourself and you better mirror yourself to see what you are made of and the kind of abusive person you portray in the society.
My Oh My, Such fury! You even forgot to congratulate the team & TB ama kulipa winning bonus is that painful. Like the proverbial ostrich you’ve stuck your head so far in the sand & are totally blinded by sycohancy. Just like FKF thought they could fool CAF that heaps of “mawe na mchanga equates to building 5 stadia” you want us to believe in “your architectural plan for a ghost stadium”. Lo & behold! Verdict Is A Resounding Invalid, Null And Void. Chan2018 goes to Morocco. Just like CAF called out FKF’s bluff so am telling you & hear me loud & clear. THE IS NO WAY YOU AND YOUR ILK CAN FOOL GMFC FRATENITY THAT YOU ARE BUILDING A STADIUM WHEN YOU CAN’T/HAVE’NT PAID WINNING BONUSES. TRY ANOTHER STORY LINE! Go & Tell Mugabe alipe players and to budget for CAF 2018 that’s if Kenyan not banned. You keep yapping that am abusive but what have i said that is not public knowledge players,office & training ground etc payments are pending yet you nef nef about building a stadium. Be Real,Give Me A Break!
Well put Jamigori. The likes of @oduori12 belong to to the fence don’t even give him attention. They are still living in denial. Rachier is the Bonafide Gor Mahia Chairman,you like it or not. Go throw yourself!
Well put too and you can even go ahead (as Baba Travis did) and abuse yourself in advance and then try and get endorsements.
Bottom line is that players must be paid bonuses for winning on time, that’s what should attract or capture your ATTENTION.
@Oduor12, Yes, players should be paid and they are being paid by the person you have been throwing bitter biles at in all your postings. Why can you just show some respect to the chair my friend? Sometime we look like fools by always abusing someone who has been digging deep into his pocket to take care of the welfare of our players and he deserves lots respect. Running Gor Mahia is not a walk in the park particularly in the current difficult operating environment when sponsors are running away and many companies are laying down workers where our fans come from due to retrenchment.
I agree with @Oduor12, if zoo n nakumatt are to be relegated, let it be after season’s end, 9 points won fairly in open play cannot just be wished away just like that.
After the KPL vs FKF judicial 18 league fiasco another stab in the back….Kenyan seems as good as gone after the Confederation of African Football Executive committee unanimously passed to strip the county off the hosting rights in a meeting…..SADDEST DAY FOR KENYA !!!!
I just hope we are not slapped with a 3 year ban from all CAF competitions meaning no continental competitions next year . I am speechless for now
yawa, Thooooooo , useless and clueless leadership !!
BREAKING NEWS !!! Kenya has been stripped off the CHAN 2018 hosting rights by the Confederation of Afraican Football Executive Committee currently meeting in Accra, Ghana.
The tough call was made by the CAF’s top decision making organ after a report by an inspection mission which visited Kenya this month returned a not ready verdict.
Unstable political situation in the country following the Supreme Court of Kenya annulment of the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta on 1st September was also put into consideration while making the decision.
Kenya was officially handed the mantle to stage the tournament in 2016 after the Rwanda’s edition following a successful bid.
But three months to the continental showpiece played strictly by home-based professionals, the stadiums that were earmarked to host the matches are way behind schedule in terms of renovation.
The Ministry of Sports this week approved Kshs 4.2 billion to aid in the work but it was a little too late in the day.
CAF will open fresh bid for new hosts, who must have ready infrastructure and can deliver a successful tournament in three months.
We were never going to be ready for that Chan and it it was always not if but when they would take it away. When you watch that FKF president talk one wonders whether he is ever serious about anything, shame on us all as a country. What Rwanda did so well, we can’t do, so painful as this was to be a great shop window for our local players. I will accept and move on.
Congratulations to the team.By God’s grace we shall win it.I must say I am impressed by the commitment the technical bench and the players have shown.We have a Coach whose confidence seems to have rubbed off on the players and fans alike.This is not to ignore the contribution of Zico and the former coach Mr Ze Maria.At the end of the season every one shall have played a part in our victory.@Odour 12 don’t you think you have said enough of EC’s malpractice?I loved to read your contributions because they seemed,at least me,well researched and credible.Of late you appear to be regurgitating and mark timing my brother.I know you gonna call me a sycophant,a boot lIcker and outright dimwit.That is okey.However,Must we be a people who only see negatives?Guys who only see cups that are half full?I beg to disagree.I
do not agree with the EC on a number of issues.As a matter of fact I didn’t vote for AR.But my love for this great team forces me to weigh everything I post here.I must consider my audience-fans,players and even Gor haters-vis-a-vis what I write.Yet I don’t think this should be considered weakness.It is only that I chose my battles.I long to read those real works of art you used to post here.Constructive criticism is okey.It builds every establishment.BUT bitterness kills!
@BT you’ve confused me for someone else. I very rarely personally “counter” attack bloggers. It’s you who has called yourself all those names not/never Oduor12.Infact I enjoy the diverse opinions in this site but my regurgitation will continue. Why should i stop as long as the malpractices (which you admit) continue. What rationale do you apply when you expect players & TB to win yet bloated EC doesn’t pay winning bonuses or even training ground fees. Omera, all am saying is pay the players their thousands for their sweat/our joy b4 “building” multi million stadium. By the way where is the land for this “stadium”, has it been fully paid for? Many teams in Africa have stadiums or training grounds but few have won a CAF title,GMFC IS ONE OF THE FEW and its players /TB WHO WIN TITLES.
The heading to this articles reads that Gor in crucial win over Tusker and hence it was my hope that the comments we make should be in context of the game e.g the tactics we used , the goals we scored , the players we fielded , our opponents etc , but in a nutshell we ought not to lose sight of our victories even if we do not lose sight of our grievances , after all dont all clubs in the world not have a share of their own e.g Barca had with the sale of Neymar , Chelsea fans had the same with sale of Costa , but they have since contextualisedall and moved on , Weaknesses &challenges are Infinite and some are consequencesof decades of systemic and systatic rot that surmounting them is pragmatically not as simple as theoriticising them , having appreciated that , lets heed Baba Travis advise and learn to pick our battles and when to , otherwise we risk going the PLO Lumumba way of being Irrelevant In a court of Law with his poems or Muite with his abundance of caution , Shining while headed in the wrong direction .
Kudos to the boys , as to the EC kudos too . . . .Strictly on this .
High Court you cannot have you cake and eat it too please.How do you rule to disqualify two teams saying they were not procedurally promoted on sporting grounds then strip mayienga of 9 crucial points earned in a field of play with fifa rules applying on sporting grounds?We must learn to temper justice with equity,18 teams started the 2017 season on a hard fought fifa supported compromise in order to bring sanity to Kenyan football and the same Must finish the season,ut is only morally right and fair Re-instate Nakumatt and Zoo Kericho forthwith…
How sweet it is to fire to beautiful goals past a star-studded Brewkenge! I am ecstatic. I am thrilled. How sweet it is to see Blackberry scoring! How about Meddie Kagere? How sweet it is to see Boniface Oluoch keep a clean sheet against Brewkenge! Thank you boys; thank you Ker; thank you Team and thank you fans.
We can’t afford any slip ups. The pain of drawing against Thicker United was immense, but the win against Brewkenge is so sweet considering that they dubiously robbed six points (a dubious penalty award and 3 docked points) from us last season. The league match in Kisumu on Wednesday is equally important and the EC should ensure that the team prepares well for this match. Finally guys spare two coins and contribute to 991444 and the Peter Dawo fund.
Been reading the back and forth exchanges vis a vis the EC and I think its about time we put our comments on the weighing scale and decide whether we want to positively criticise for the development of the team even if frustratingly slow or we want to go on the path of full blown negative criticism that seeks to destroy a whole institution based on an obsessive hatred of an individual.
Am one of the most ardent critic of Rachier , but I can never lose sight of the fact that Rachier is the most successful club chairman in Kenya this decade, his weaknesses withstanding .
Despite my over the top criticism but within the bounds of respect call outs on Rachier , I want to volunteer that I voted for him and I wish to reiterate that despite my reservations of him , if the elections were held today and the opposition remains as it were the last time , I would without any hesitation vote for Him ( Rachier) again , bcoz people like as with the institutional memory of the intrigues and complexities of running a club like Gor or Afc prefer to vote with a heads and not our hearts , otherwise if were not Rachier , Gor would have been run down by scavengers like Afc Leopards .
For the sake of what we have , lets build on it , lets not wish doom for our club so as to proove our I told u so moment.
We are not where we wish to be , but again we are not where we dont want to be.
@Teddy Sofaset Branch Entebbe, I agree with you. Positive criticisms are always better than always criticism as we are in the run-off to election. We fans should avoid abusive remarks and come up with the best ways of improving the fortunes of the club. Ambrose Rachier has done very well under the very difficult operating conditions. We need to build from what we have than destroying and killing the spirit of the leadership. Some derogatory remarks are not healthy for those that we have entrusted to run the club.
Congrats team for a win well-deserved. Let us criticize the team with one purpose, to improve it. As said positive criticism is healthy for any organization. It creates room for improvement but criticizing for the sake will take us down the ingwe-path. anybody who read Matano’s comments awhile back he challenged Ingwe office and fans to emulate Gor in running their club. maybe that’s why they have now improved. Our EC, TB, Players etc are all human and are bound to make mistakes or fall short of what is expected of them. Let’s point out those areas and offer solutions and ideas instead of just pointing out mistakes. Name calling of players , EC and even TB is in bad faith. I remember how we called our current coaches/players names in the near past and they are now our darlings. Fortunately the internet never forgets. My prayer is that we beat Sofa and widen the gap and also that Nakumatt and Zoo remain in the league as it doesn’t make any sense to relegate a team with 8 out of 34 games remaining. I fear for court battles if the issues are not resolved
Since 1979 , I have been in Gor mahia and there is no year I have not taken my time to support the club….As i write this massage,am 60 years old but there are some cultures which if we don’t check will destroy the team completely…
1. Why do we have to abuse our chairman all the time?
2. Can somebody tell me what wrong the EC/ TB have done?
3. Election was done and Rachier won squarely, the best thing to be done is for whoever might be interested to contest at the next election to ought him.
Remember, Rachier is also a human being with family and friends.
Let the truth be told…It’s Mr. Rancher who has made this beloved club to be where we are now. He took over when some of us were not interested in the affairs of the club…and we used to survive relegation on technicalities…What do you want…?
With all due respect, don’t Kagere, Tuyisenge, Boni etc have families,friends/ commitments who/that depend on their allowances being paid on time & as agreed.Why do our players have to always stage a go slow about allowances & salaries? For that matter where is the (your) outpouring of similar concern/tears for one Peter Ochieng Dawo aka Omuga. Our legend is on painkillers, suffering daily, this is a worse scandal than even the Chan2018 debacle. Yes, Mugabe won the election fair & square,you may have voted for or against him & all the rest that has been said is actually immaterial. His main mandate & that of his office is to pay players what is rightfully theirs on time & as agreed.How long has Dawo pleaded for assistance & yet (also allow me to stretch the argument as is being done here) were being told of building a stadium-THE DELAYING PLAYERS WINNING BONUSES is an example of player exploitation by EC and Dawo’s case/ tribulations is there for all of us to witness. ON THIS I WILL NO COMPROMISE.
Would suba.I support you fully, i have decided to keep quiet not understanding why we don’t see anything positive that Rachier has done. Gor beat Tursker at kericho, I expected to get some comments on how we played but it turns to be a conversation of Mugabe and chan. At one time I posted a comment on our former players who made us proud, asking our good office to offer them free passage to our matches and medical scheme for their families, only ja asego commented.Now my fellow kogalo fans peter dawo is in need what do we do. Players like, mike Otieno, Tobias ocholla.Austin odour, bobby ogolla do they have to pay to watch Gor matches?
Now i can see we are going to the right direction.
On players salaries and allowances , it must be paid and not only but in time do that our beloved players should not be like beggars.
On the welfare of the current players it’s a must and no compromise on it.
In the welfare of the former players, I suggest that in the case of Dawo let the fans and supporters open a pay bill number and further request the office to promote the same.
As the coach said it , let the players fight for the green Jersey.
What I don’t agree with is the idea of abuse of EC and Rachier left and right without justification at all.
Lastly all the former players and old officials should not pay to watch k’ogalo playing.
Let’s meet at kisumu tomorrow.