Gor Mahia force draw with Al Khartoum
Gor Mahia came from behind and forced a 1-1 draw with Al Khartoum of Sudan. Gor Mahia’s goal came via Eric Ochieng who headed home a Khalid Aucho cross.
Despite the draw, Gor Mahia still have a chance at topping the group. To ensure they win the group, they must beat Djibouti Telecom then hope that the match between Young Africans and Al Khartoum ends in a draw or Young Africans win.
courtesy of goal.com
Ousmailia Baba put Al Khartoum ahead in the seventh minute and here K’Ogalo goalkeeper Boniface Oluoch will blame himself for the goal. Oluoch, who has been in good form, failed to clear an earlier danger allowing Baba to tap home.
Then Eric Ochieng’ netted the equaliser in the 43rd minute allowing Gor Mahia to pick a vital point as both sides have now collected seven points after three matches. It was just the second time in the competition that Gor Mahia were trailing in the competition and it is a situation that once again tested their character as a team.
They did well to attempt a comeback with Khalid Aucho getting a free-kick in the ninth minute from a very prime position. Aucho easily picked out Mike Olunga but the effort went out. Two minutes later, Ali Abondo from a free-kick in an almost similar position sent the ball past the Al Khartoum backline and the goalkeeper Adil Eltahir in goal spilled out the ball. Olunga, who was close by had a poor follow up.
Then in the 18th minute, Innocent Wafula picked out Olunga with a well curved free-kick but the towering forward hesitated just a bit and put the ball out when he finally recovered. On the other side of the pitch, Atif Khalid hit the Gor Mahia post with goalkeeper Boniface Oluoch well beaten. Karim Nizigiyimana did well to clear the danger. By this time, the Sudanese side were clearly in charge of the match and gave the Kenyan champions plenty of trouble.
The match changed to Gor Mahia’s favour in the 42nd minute when Eric Ochieng’ headed home a Khalid Aucho well taken free-kick. The Al Khartoum backline watched in disbelief as Ochieng’ headed home the equaliser.
The second half was a see-saw affair but Gor Mahia looked to have an edge. Haroun Shakava was cautioned for a bad tackle on Ahmed Adam. The same fate also befell Khalid Aucho, who picked his third yellow card of the tournament and is now in danger of missing the quarter-final match. In the 52nd minute, Innocent Wafula lobbed the ball towards Al Khartoum goal and it was punched out by Eltahir in goal.
Al Khartoum then rested Mohammed Hassan for Antony Okumu while Gor Mahia benched Ali Abondo for Collins ‘Gattuso’ Okoth. At this point in the match, Gor Mahia appeared to enjoy advantage in the match as they managed to keep their opponents in their own half for most of the second half.
Gor Mahia line-up : Oluoch, Aucho, Kagere, Walusimbi, Ali Abondo, Musa, Olunga, Wafula, Sibomana, Nizigiyimana and Shakava. Subs: Jerim Onyango, Collins Okoth, Wendo Ernest, Dirkir Glay, Odhiambo George, Ronald Omino and Enock Agwanda.
Al Khartoum : 1. Adil Eltahir, 12. Mohammed Hassan [14. Anthony Akumu 55’], 15. Samawal Merchani, 5. Omer Ali, 26. Hamza Zakaria, 25. Murwan Salih, 16. Wagdi Wad Abdalla [10. Domenic Abul 53’], 8. Amin Ibrahim Elmani, 19. Ousmaila Baba [18. Hassan Eldon 73’], 17. Ahmed Adan Mahamoud, 11. Atif Khalid Eltayeb
Unused Subs: 30. Mohammed Ibrahim, 4. Moawia Elamin, 6. Salah Eldin, 20. Badru Eldin
Tough game…good result!
Meanwhile can someone please ask Dennis Odhiambo of Thika if Tusker is also being favoured by refs!
If your team is poor it’s poor..stop looking for scapegoats everytime you lose!!!
My advise to all players, I salute you. congratulation to you all but be extra careful at all times!! simple mistake can fail us at the last minute,
After this draw I don’t want to sound alarmist because they’ve been doing it all season. But Gor Mahia’s intensive playing style could curtail their CECAFA bid noting that the games are plenty in a very short span of time. A team that distributes the ball well as we saw Yanga could run them down; if in extra time of a knockout game. You can tag along Kenyan football analysis at kpltactics.WordPress.com
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Lucky draw though a tactical blunder from the coach….Most of this players should have been rested. Oluoch is tired, the wingbacks are wearing out, aucho yellow means he will miss key games.
I expected this, a tough game. Al khartoum is avery good side and for me, the tournaments favourite.
I want to encourage our boys to keep fighting, nothing comes easy. Good luck!
I can already see signs of fatigue creeping in. I hope we will remain focused till the end of this competition.
Boniface and Siboumana were a bit shaky in the initial minutes into the match.
I know the coach is doing a very good job but yesterday he could have done an early substitution for either Kagere or Abondo. Agwanda could have brought some pressure against the Sudanese sides.
Our next game is the trickiest because I guess our boys are already underrating the opponents who have already lost all their matches…
@Admin – Where did you see Walusimbi in the lineup? Even Glay was in starting lineup and not bench…
I mean Erick Ochieng was also in starting lineup but I cant see him here
Tell players not to going out with women before the match, ni swara tuppu!