Gor Mahia eye redemption against US Bitam
courtesy of the Standard
96 and they were eliminated in the first round by Dynamos of Zimbabwe triggering fans riots in Nairobi. Almost two decades later, Gor returns to the continental stage on Saturday hoping to do better when they host US Bitam of Gabon at Nyayo National Stadium. Coach Bobby Williamson has set his sights high pointing out their poor performance in Sunday’s Kenya Power Charity match against Sofapaka — which Gor lost 3-1 — as a motivation factor for them to do better. “The delay experienced before the second half kicked off affected our players. We played very well in the first half though we failed to convert many chances that came our way.
Unknown opponent
Williamson admitted he does not know anything about their opponents but has an opportunity to watch them in the first leg and this gives him a chance to prepare better for the return match after a fortnight. “They also don’t know much about us and that gives us an advantage as well. It is only after the first leg that we can both have an idea about each team’s strength and weakness and prepare well,” he said. Regarding Gor’s training, the Scott said he is satisfied with the kind of preparations the team has had. “We have played a number of good build-up matches giving me an opportunity to try out all the players. This has also saved us from incurring injuries especially to our key players,” he revealed.
Previous injuries
However, even with that, Gor Mahia still lost two players — Kevin Omondi and Timothy Wanyonyi — injured during a friendly match against Nakumatt two weeks ago. “It is unfortunate that we will not have the two players after they picked injuries. It is a big set-back for us but we will do without them,” said the coach. Williamson has also expressed concern that his team has not been allowed to train at Nyayo Stadium where they will play their matches on Saturday. “We will play the match on grass but unfortunately we have been forced to train on astro-turf. The management at Nyayo Stadium insist the facility is not ready but as a home team we need to use it before the match. This is a big concern for us and we hope it can be resolved quickly,” said Williamson. The Champions League is the most lucrative competition for African clubs and features local league winners from all the 54 countries. The competition boasts prize money of Sh120million for the winner. The runners-up pocket Sh85million. Teams start earning money from the second round of the competition where no Kenyan club has eve
Walusimbi says….gor Mahia lacks aggressiveness and responsibility! Hmmmmmm, not any different from what has been said by the coach and some of the bloggers.He further mentions that gor has about 5 top quality players, which to me means he thinks just about 1/4 of gor Mahia current squad is world class.
Bloggers this is food for thought………2014 there is no title that is guaranteed , we have to sweat for everything and US BITAM matches can be downloaded from you tube , so no excuse like, we don’t know our opponents or we did not have enough training or the stadium was inaccessible.
how come there is nothing positive coming out of our camp?does it mean we are doomed…..even before the seasons starts proper??
Jakoyo so what do you want to do know at this moment…?please i don’t know why you always have a lot of negative energy against the team,please give us space, so did walusimbi include himself among those five players you are talking about….?please it is time to encourage the team not those things you are telling us after all there is nothing we can do know ,the recruitment had been done and that is it.
Currently our squad is good going by local and regional standards but saying that some are world class is taking matters too far. If you are world class in Africa you will be noted immediatley by the big boys in Europe and shipped out.
Since the ’87 class and the class of Odiaga and Nyangi this is the time we have had an all-round confidence-boosting squad. Let us support them unconditionally and they will deliver. We did that with last year’s squad and after 18 years we won the league. This year apart from the league we also have the CECAFA to contend for. Others will be the Top 8 and GoTV.
Heard that some goons who stole chairs and caused the Sunday chaos were caught and are awaiting trial. That is the way to go until when we will freeze when we think of messing up with peace. Currently we think twice before we go drinking and driving , it should be the case also when we are watching soccer and causing chaos.
Otherwise, we pray and hope that God grants us the wisdom, strength and tact to easily pass through the Saturday duel
MY BET. GOR MAHIA 3-0 US BITAM
the team is good but is it prepared?…NO. my advice, gor shud not play to pls the crowd and the players shud take full responsibility for their actions. simply put majivuno aside and u can sail thru, come the return leg u might be fit n ready. gor never thought about playing this cup so i will not expect miracles. but let this be a lesson for nxt year. before the 3-1 spanking by sofapaka the coach alluded to how well gor was prepared. mr coach, are you coaching while sitting in a pub? pls wake up, na hiyo story ya training at nyayo pls find another excuse-how many times has the gor player avaraged in nyayo? on hooligans, there is nothing to worry, the hooligans never dare to mess in CAF matches cause they know the punishment comes back deadly and swift. hooliganism is only for local matches and if the goverment DARE DO ANYTHING, it will quickly turn into a tribal issue, something like ‘goverment is killing luos’… best of luck guys n see ya on sato.
When Jakoyo was under siege for issuing ultimatum to some players for doing too little at GM i considered his outburst as just one unpopular opinion and indeed i said we will be there watching all the matches. I am appalled with his cheap support of a disastrous statement from one walusimbi. I urge all of us to kindly watch matches without conditions, why do most of us appear to only want to watch when we are winning? Why are some of us putting crazy timelines? Oduori12 which coach do you have in mind after the five matches of supposed BW’s flop? Walusimbi must know or will be told he is not special a player and the mentality of calling his colleagues names is arrogant, selfish and stupid. He needs to learn very fast that this is kenya and especially GM. As a professional he should know better that some questions from journalists are better skipped, ignored or totally thrown back? He may as well need to understand that malicious enquiries are better put off by populist answers. If he continue that way he will render himself a wannabe…
Haiiyaa @ Kassam I only said that the team & bench needs 5 competitive games know whether this BW led team will lead us 2 glory i.e win CECAFA,TPL & GoTv titles.
My friend, what r ua expectations this year?
Is it pipping/drawing against the Mumbi F.Cs & being whipped Sofapaka’s?
R u relying on lady luck smiling on GM?
BW’s is being paid top $ 2 deliver trophies not give excuses. Walusimbi is spot on 2 b open about the high stands he expects from a team of GM’s fame & calibre. Kudos Walusimbi!
Walusimbi is right on target if he ever said that… on 5 world class players, that’s just to high. but i can say with confidence that Owino ‘jasirati’ is world class. gor mahia players have for long engaged in kalongo longo mentality. recently those of you who watched CHAN might have noticed how the other side of africa take their games seriously. from gabon,zimbabwe, mali et nigeria. these guys play like it’s a ‘mosad’ mission.they play total, irrelevant what their chances are, and that’s what pro’s are made of. even though i will not limit this luck of responsibility to gor only, it’s kenya football plus the neighbours ethiopia, tz. this is where you find flower football. teams like ethiopia despite having a good run had their journey to conquer cut shot. look at afc playing mathare, the first 15 minutes they were behaving as they were brazil but when they realised they could not beat mathare resorted to frustation tackles. kenyan players and in this case gor are guilty as charged if you ask me. the squad might be having talent but with such little focus they will surely end nowhere. so now africa is realising that these so called best leagues of kenya et s. africa are just illusions.
Jakie, who is this Walusimbi of yours? Is he a football coach? Is he a trainer in some football academy? Could he be same Walusimbi who signed for Gor Mahia this season? If so then I believe that no one put a gun on his head for his signature. He elected to play for Gor Mahia when he had an opportunity to decide otherwise. It is therefore important that he considers himself as part of our playing unit for now until his contract expires or is revoked.
While in Gor Mahia, he should embrace teamwork and be a team player under all circumstances. He has taken a path that may be rocky for him. The aura of superiority that he is exuding may not augur well with those Gor Mahia players who have not made it in his list of nominees for the ‘Walusimbi Award’. If he is not careful, his remarks may just alienate him with other players- an event that may be very costly and counter productive for the club. If he hadn’t, then it is high time that he started pulling in the sane direction with the rest of the players.
A good player will always strive lift his other team mates to his level; not look down upon them. The reality is that even with his chosen five, he will still need another five to make a team of eleven. In fact I am yet to see a team where all the eleven are stellar soccer wizards the way he would wish. Never! even at the national team level.
Why are we taking everything out of context. What the guy meant was that we have good players and some are even exceptional but as a team they need to have the fire to win burning in their bellies. To me the guy is trying to urge his team mates to win. It’s as simple as that.
The only problem with us is the emotional way we take up issues no wonder some of us cannot take a lose
@Dan it is always jakoyos behavior to misinteprate things and put them in other versions to generate discussion ,how stupid is walusimbi that he can isolate some players to be better than others,please it is time to ignore this guy like we always do to that ingo guy,he is always irrelevant.even me i read the article but it is not the way jakoyo is putting it.jakoyo according to your behavior seemingly you really liked sitting with women when you were young ama ulikuwa jawanya.
@Dan Original 11, u are spot on. Bloggers please focus and accept other opinions. Agreed a team comprises of 11, but without teamwork and sharp finish u ll end up losing. We do not want any guesswork infront of the goal, we want aggressiveness and brilliance from whoever has that ball. I also urge bloggers not to intimidate players, they need encouragement from all of us, let the coach and the tech bench do their work..
too much of walusimbi , i dont think its the player i saw on sunday and i believe from first half display on sunday then we are on the right track its jst a matter of knowing diferent runs and of course some new players for the first time had jitters seeing the thousands of kogalo fans so its understandable. wishing my beloved kogalo all the best.
Fellow bloggers, as we continue criticizing our team after the weekend debacle, please let all of us know that no coach is as decorated as Timbe in Cecafa club football. The data is available online.
This man knows all tactics of Williamson and if there is any coach who will give Kogalo a hard time this season, it’s Timbe. He has won league titles left, right and centre in this region after joining non-performing teams in mid-season. Sofapaka are in the league race for real.
On our matters, i’m yet to be convinced that the disruption of our game last weekend wasn’t planned. From where i sat and later suffered painful tear gas, it all looks like a vendetta to drive away fans from our games. For me the real culprits were the police.
The team is good and only needs a little more time and encouragement and we will have a wonderful season.
All the best against Bitam.
Let jakoyo be everyone is entitled to his opinion kogalo will rise let that not worry you!
To me Walusimbi was urging his teammates to remain focused despite an embarrassing outing in the KPL Charity Cup.He believes the team has what it takes to defend the league title as well as do well in the Champions League. The loss to sofapaka, to him should be a wakeup call to all players. There is no doubting in quality in the squad only aggressiveness is lacking in front of the goal which am sure the TB is working on.lets wish the team ALL the BEST instead of engaging in cheap translation. Go go go go go go go K’Ogalo na donge