Gor Mahia 1 Nakuru All Stars 0
courtesy of futaa.com
Top Fry AllStars had one of their best games in the season so far but all that counted for nothing as they suffered a 0 – 1 loss at the hands of champions Gor Mahia in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) clash played on Wednesday 16 July at the Nairobi City Stadium.
AllStars should have had the opener on five minutes when Tony Nyangor beat the Gor Mahia offside trap but skipper Jerim Onyango was out in time to make a big clearance.
Simon Pierre’s goal
The hosts took cue from the scare and three minutes later got the opener when it seemed unlikely after Kanamuli Kapilima’s poor clearance from Kennedy Ayong’s free kick landed well on Simone Pierre’s path and all the Cameroonian had to do was steer the ball past Shaban Odhoji.
AllStars did not panic and managed to fashion attacks of their own with some crisp passing, one of which called on Jerim Onyango to make a good save from Tony Nyangor in the 11th minute.
Missed chances
The champions had to make another clearance four minutes later from a free kick floated in after Musa Mohamed’s foul on Erastus Mwaniki and moments later Nyangor had a chance on a half – volley but his shot deflected off Musa Mohamed to allow Jerim an easy save.
As the match drifted towards the half hour mark Gor Mahia should have had a second goal when Ayong’ did well to pick out Timothy Otieno deep in the AllStars area but the striker lost his footing just before making contact with the ball and the chance went begging.
Lumumba brilliance
AllStars created their best chance of the first half courtesy of some brilliant individual play from Cersidy Lumumba who beat Haron Shakava, wrong-footed Collins Okoth then left Musa Mohamed for dead before delightfully curling goalwards but he watched in agony as the ball bounced off the bar before being cleared for a fruitless corner.
A key highlight in the opening stages of the second half was the numerous wasted chances by the hosts with Timothy Otieno, Patrick Oboya and Joseph Kariuki culpable of big misses and were almost made to pay on 57 minutes when Teddy Siwa latched on to Erastus Mwaniki’s pass to beat the offside trap but his attempt to chip it over the advancing Jerim Onyango went awry.
Ssemazi scare
Arthur Ssemazi, introduced for the injured Patrick Oboya nearly doubled the scores for the hosts when he got to the end of Eric Ochieng’s corner kick to head well on goal but with the keeper already beaten, the ball bounced off the bar allowing the retracting Shaban Ouma an easy save.
The visitors pushed on hard for an equalizer but the champions managed to hold their own and with the win stretch their lead to 37 points, six points better than second placed Tusker while AllStars’ relegation woes deepened as they stay 15th with 12 points after 18 games
Well done. The players should not relax but rather work hard to consolidate their lead at the top of the league table. Kogalo!! Please, do not relax.
This two boys continue to impress me the most – joseph kariuki and collins gattuso. Keep up the good work!
Guys, watch sserenkuma play for Danish side hb koge match @ http://snapwidget.com/u/193640038
We need to be worried about the number of injuries but so far so good. Where was BB and Emuge?
The team needs our support more than ever before. As we criticize let’s know that the team has so many challenges but the boys are soldiering on.
We should also acknowledge the part being played by EC by stewarding the team despite all the hurdles being thrown on their way
Kariuki is repaying my faith in him. When he was signed many bloggers castigated him for a poor show in a pre season game. I pointed out his displays for Karuturi as proof of his ability. I was roundly condemned. Lesson : We should never b too judgemental
Good work from the boys
Collins okoth gatusso,thnk u for coming back home.av never doubted ua football skills.good passer of the ball n defensive too.
Kariuki also is a good player
wd love to see Bobby Williamson play 4-3-3.
walusimbi owino shakava Musa
gatusso. kizito. Kariuki
oboya. Otieno. blackberry
Gooooooor goooor Mahia
thnk u for the win today
@ simplicity even in the mid season signing i told people here that,we should not doubt the signings that the coach himself has done,all the signing we did in midseason are all talented,just give them five matches and we will see the end product,Dan onyango #deco is very stable in midfield with very accurate passes.look at what the small boys are doing,otieno is great,kariuki,mburu,ayong opiyo,big names at times dont work,just look at our neighbours.
terrific stuff from the boys… we need to rope the callabar’s younger brother to team. he is another gem of a player. n way, thank God for the three valuable points!!!
@7,i beg to differ,we were outplayed in the 1st half,though we scored we were realy poor with the ball.kariuki hardly got hold of the ball bt this changed in the 2nd & you culd c some movement(this boy culd turn out to be THE PLAYMAKER).offer suggestions on how BW can make the team relax & enjoy futbal,i think they so tense,.All stars were so relaxed n played well.there defender was gud ,so was okeyo in mid.Bt thats how champions r made,u win even wen u av played not so well.
I LIKE the type of scorings the boys use,any person can score, almost ten of playaz av scored goals lyke dat. waah, vjana walicheza poa,27th,najua afc wataona vumbi,vle wanacheza ka watao vle,? Mmmmm. weit and see, infct evry plya is workg 4 te no.
football made in kogalo
jakoyo said the truth i dont see any talent in this ssemazi guy…he has no pace,no skill….eish berry is far much beta….timothy otieno is deadly congrats…
Congratulations guys,Gattuso,Timothy and co, you did well to get the three points. It was very refreshing to see all those “other” players taking to the pitch. Watch out for Kariuki but only if he can learn to release quick passes. Ssemmazi? no comment.
that is what champions are made of, never mind the display, displays dont win leagues but points do. keep bagging them boys and thanks for getting things even for me against topfry, even the colour of their jersey made my heart to skip before, but now i am good to go
When I watched Kariuki on the first game. I think it was the DStv game against Tusker the impatient fans within us called for his substitution and this was the same thing we did to Timothy during his first game, against Thika. We therefore need to encourage all our players. There is basically no unskilled players in Gor but they have their own weaknesses and strengths. The thing is to fully use the strengths and the weaknesses will be wiped out. Even a good player like Thierry Henry had a weakness on headers as well as using the left foot to score but his strengths in sprinting and finishing ecliped his weaknesses.
We will definitely have to struggle to retain the trophy and at times we will need good luck as champions always do. At times we will play poorly and win or play well like we did against Thika and not win. This will happen to the other teams as well
POTENTIAL
It was really a brave decision by the coach to honour the fixture despite the club missing a number of 1st team players. Missing Calabar, BB, Emuge, Oluoch, Dani, Walusimbi, Baba, Mutiso and still put out a team to beat Top Fry is no mean achievement. This is a testament of the coaches’ belief in the quality of the squad. We must also not forget the FACT tht Gor Mahia still needs to attract SPONSORS to help us meet the team requirements. Failure to do this will result in players moving away to seek better pay.
Building a Team
The huge appetite to recruit new players and to move others every new season must be curtailed as it leaves no room for players to grow together and establish themselves in a team. Its sad tht 7 or more players get dropped at the beginning of every season by the big teams and GM is no exception. I hope that this current GM team will not get dismantled come the new season. I urge Bob and his team to only do minimum tweaks come January. We have Odhiambo Paul and Obwoge Jared on loan. Angelo Okumu just came back and should be reintergrated in the team. Added to the under 19, I feel we hve the required number and quality to move forwards. Doing this would allow the team to grow as a unit. A team is never formed by constantly moving on players and bringing in new ones. Look at wht is happening to Efusi. Buying names and failing with names is ingrained in Efusi’s DNA and not Gor Mahia’s. We cannot go tht way because we will fail like them. We make stars and Bob and his team MUST reinvent themselves to look to the youth. Timothy Otieno, Kopany, Angelo, Shakava, Bruno, Kariuki, Niva, are among a group of young players tht if given their fair chances to compete will be a big success with Gor Mahia. Let us embrace the ’70s, ’80s and the early ’90s trend of recruiting young players.
Looking Ahead.
The following Top Fry Players impressed during their match against Gor Mahia at the City Stadium last evening:- Mwaniki, Bernard Odhiambo (Calabar Jnr) and Okeyo. Please Kindly bring only players who will improve our team ie they are better than the players currently on our roster- (3 players or less) per season.
Congrats vijana. I can see BW is building a team for the future. Generally Gor played well yesterday apart from the last 20 minutes or so, when Wet Fry or is it Bottom Fry kind of dominated the play. 8 More wins and we are crowned.
I am not worried about nothing. For God and my beloved club – Kogallo
This new boys should fear no one and no one, the worst that can happen is being beaten 8:1 since a record for 7:1 has already been set
Congrats