Gor Mahia held by Thika United
courtesy of futaa.com
Thika United and Gor Mahia shared spoils in a Kenyan Premier League (KPL) match played at the City Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Gor Mahia started the match on attacking mode and could have taken the lead in the sixth minute. Kevin Omondi and Patrick Oboya exchanged neat passes, the latter finding the on-running Godfrey Walusimbi with a good pass. The Ugandan dropped in a perfectly weighted pass but Thika United custodian Hamza Muwonge reacted fast to avert the danger.
The hardworking Walusimbi made another good run down the left flank in the tenth minute and floated in a cross but Simon Mbugua cleared the danger.
Thika United chance came in the 16th minute. John Nairuka brought in a good cross from the right but David Juma did well by rising high to pick the ball.
Gor Mahia could have taken the lead in the 34th minute but Shaban Kenga shot from inside the box after an incisive pass from Oboya.
Second Half
Moses Arita replaced David Kingatua after the restart in an obvious attempt by Thika United to sharpen their attack. However, Vincent Omubo handled the ball in the box few minutes late, Gor winning a penalty.
Sserenkuma stepped up to take it but his hard shot was parried away for a corner by Hamza Muwonge.
This is a very good result considering that we were playing away. Fellow fans, let us see this as a point gained and not two points lost. I know we all expected all the three points but we must not put unnecessary pressure on the team this early. We have one of the best records in the league so far and congrats to the team and TB. They played as a team and therefore no need to start pointing fingers at individual players because we know they will perform better tomorrow. And they have always made us proud. They just don’t know how to concede goals.
What happened to the cry ” we lost to a club with a bigger budget “? so if we drew with thika today, does it mean we are on equal budget?
Having personally today watched gor mahia play for the first time this season, i am beginning to believe some bloggers who have been championing for lack of tactics or poor tactics at the club. here are my big concerns….
1. gor mahia style of play is very predictable, ignore the midfiled, play wingers through long balls and look for sserenkuma through the middle,this is not how you play 4-2-3-1.
2. Blatant reliance on sserenkuma for goals. Am sorry to say this if sserenkuma is injured or does not play,it is very difficult to see how gor Mahia is going to score. And today’s match proved my point, sserenkuma missed a penalty and gor Mahia failed to score and obviously failed to win.
3. Too many long balls. Am sorry to say the midfield of gor Mahia is not being very well utilized and that will explain why kizito is playing too deep near the back line and akumu is resorting to long shorts which are in most cases wasteful. Can somebody please work on play particularly in midfield, we are loosing too many 50-50 balls! If we get a team that is good at possession, we will be thoroughly walloped.
4. Sserenkuma lost a penalty in cecafa against ivo mapunda, because they both play the same club, therefore ivo mapunda knew how to save sserenkuma’s penalties. The same was witnessed against thika in today’s match- the thika goalkeeper is an ex-uganda international and played with sserenkuma sometime last year briefly so he knew how sserenkuma takes penalties and was therefore comfortable saving! Did the technical staff not see this coming?
this is positive criticism which I believe the club will rectify in the next few games but questions will once again be raised about the coach and his tactics.
Good job. My personal belief is that for our dear Gor Mahia to do well, we will need to work on the middle field and rely less on the lead striker for goals. What happed to Oboya, Blackberry, and Salim? If we learned from the Esperence experience, why didnt we see that today?
We all wanted 3 pts but we got one.As they say if you can’t win then don’t loose.Theirs no point of being frustrated or start pointing fingers, but as @1 as said lets see these as a point gained. This being a championship where we play 30 matches,there are instances where we will win,draw or loose.Lets accept this and focus on the next match.
@Jakoyo after watching one match then your analysis can only be based on that. From what I observed either our players are getting fatigued or the thought that they will just win. The fighting spirit was really missing and our players need to be hungry to win. We were too casual and in fact Gor escaped narrowly when Thika lost two one-on-one situations. To me this is a wake-up call. On the TB we are used to fans pointing fingers at them the moment things go awry. When did a coach train a premier league player matters ball control and personal discipline? The truth is that some of our lack some professional skills like ball control and vision. At times there is too much individual work at the expense of team work. This could be due to many ball players in the team which can either be an advantage or not.
So far so good, that was todays result.our statistics so far since january
super cup;
Gor 1:3 sofapaka
caf cl
Gor 1:0 Bitam
Bitam 1:0 Gor
kpl
Gor 2:0 city stars
Mathare0:1 Gor
caf cl
Gor 2:3 Esperance
Esperance5:0 Gor
kpl
Gor 2:0 western stima
Thika utd 0:0 Gor
Some Kogalo players like Sserunkuma have played so many games. Remember he also played for Uganda against Zambia. He needs a rest, especially if the team is playing 5 games in 14 days. Also, someone else should take penalties every now and then. It cannot be Sserunkuma all the time.
These are very constructive criticisms. That is how it should be. No personal attacks on individual players. @ Joe Riaga, teams always must have their preferred penalty takers. Man U = RVP or Rooney, Chelsea = Lampard or Oscar, Ronaldo, Messi etc. I see no wrong in GM also having one designated penalty takers. However, some teams like Arsenal have/had a policy where the person who causes the penalty does not take it. What should concern us is Sserunkuma’s success rate in penalty taking and I think he has been pretty spot on. One miss alone is no big deal and given that it wasn’t a cup final.
Just read that Musa has gone to SA for trials courtesy of FISA. Let’s wish him success
Fellow bloggers let us support the team all the times whether they will,lose or draw. This draw in fact should serve as a wake up call to the team and I c no need to worry. My only concern is that some players looked fatigued nd performed below par after doing so well in the last match nd this gives the TB headache.Bring on Top Fry on Sato!
We were playing a team that was comfortable with a draw. So Bw should develop a strategy for such teams otherwise i urge our boys to up their game
This is all about the game of tootball. We should expect a win, draw or a loss. So a point is not bad. Otherwise lets now concentrate on the nxt game.
For the penaty, even top striker in Europe do loose so why not Serenkuma.
wacha kutoa complements about games mpaka sacco iwe formed…am not commenting.wea s the sacco,i want my club to b likes of who is who kwa football.so sacco iwe informed.hav got savings for my club,ksh 5000.so bloggers join me n lets all itisha sacco.am dreaming of my club having a 40000 capacity stadium,training ground,hotel n reatranaut n venture n2 real estates.sacco.
IMAGINE the game ilikuwa poa na boys tried their best,bat thika did not played a clean ball,westage of alot of tym,when they possess the the ball,je,kwani cku hizi bado mpira inapigwa inje na defenda? poor stylish thika
i cant blame our players,infact they played well,Thika came to defend n they succeeded so lets not read much into it,i know we shall rise again,tukutane nakuru
Just like stima, who failed, thika succeeded in getting the result they wanted, a draw. I saw them celebrate as if they had won the match. Our boys did their best but the truth is that our performance was not at its best. It happens in football. Let’s pick up against topfry on Sato.
Sofar so good things aren’t looking bad. Hope sooner K’Ogallo will be at the top and maintain the lead till first leg
at times i do sympathies with the coach,how to you deal with INCONSISTENCIES in your team,some players play so well in one game,the next game you give them a vote of confidence and start with them in the 1st 11,”oops”,they don’t perform.Do u enlist the services of a therapist or a motivational speaker.Congrat’s to 4 or 5 players who have been consistent.I suggest BW should train Dan Onyango the defensive midfielder in position 2 our weakest point.Otherwise the game was OK but we lack the hunger,passion,the desire to win, having said that i think we will win the league but we wont dominate unless players change their attitude.teams should fear coming to city stadium not b’coz of the fans but b’coz of the way players play like they are possessed in their home ground
Thika United has been Kogallo’s boggy team. To me a draw was a pretty fair result against this team. It reminds me of Motcom and Nzoia of yesteryear’s. It was always very difficult playing these 2 teams.
Let the focus shift to Nakuru Wet-fry All Stars. All the best.
For God and my beloved club – Kogallo
In a game of football, any result is a reality. The draw is part of the game otherwise how would we know our weakness? At some point Gor will be beaten by any better team during any particular game but that does not mean that our players are not doing enough. Positive comments are also encouraged if and only if the bloggers are true supporters of Gor.
Well done Boys and keep the fire burning
Gob Bless KOGALO
Positives can be drawn on any front, therefore, may the boys be focused on the next match, i.e against Top Fry. However, the matches preceding the out of Nairobi games, I think the coach should do more and win, so as to make fans agile to drive down in caravans.
Though I did not attend the match, I hear people are not sounding awk with the draw, I fail to understand why, I suppose we let the technical bench do its work, and should be judged at the end of the season by the number of trophies collected, therefore, BW led team should be given the ample time to allow him build something concrete.
Best of luck to the one and only team
SIRI IMETOBOLEWA……SO GET SSERENKUA OFF PENALTY RESPONSIBILITY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thika United and Ugandan international custodian Hamza Muwonge has exclusively revealed the secret that saw him parry off a Dan Sserunkuma penalty in their goalless Kenya Premier League (KPL) match against Gor Mahia on Wednesday 19 March 2014 at the City Stadium.
In a post match interview with futaa.com, Muwonge said how he has been following his country mate’s penalty taking techniques, a move that saw him dive in the right direction on the day.
-I have keenly been following Sserunkuma’s penalty taking skills and against Esperance, he took it the ball on the right hand side of the top of the net, the same happened against US Bitam and having played with him in the national team, I know that he likes placing the ball on the right hand side of the post, Muwonge said.
Going by his tactics
-With that little information I could judge which direction he was likely going to take it and that is something any goalkeeper anticipates for when it comes to spot kicks, you first study the taker before reacting, added Muwonge.
The Uganda Cranes keeper also stated that it was the little experience with Gor Mahia coach Bobby Williamson that helped him know how to approach the game. He further added that he is enjoying his stay with the Thika based side and wishes to use the opportunity to be called back to the national team.
-I know Bobby Williamson as one of the best coaches I have ever worked with for many years. Today I knew how tough the game will be going by his tactics but we are grateful having at least secured a point rather than a loss.
@Jakoyo, what you are saying is true but I believe Danny can still score to the left while the goalie goes to the right as per their studies. Alternately he can put more force and if the worse comes to the worse we still have many alternative penalty takers.
I know we are still negotiating on sponsorships but I hope all goes well though we get info that a deal is about to be signed only for things to go quiet again.
By the way though the city stadium is our home ground, is it appropriate for the legion of fans, and the safety of the players as a result of a worrn-out turf. Most teams are avoiding the stadium though unfortunately the altenatives are so bumpy. Some of our ‘fans’ have even realized that the stadium gates facing Burma are weak and unmanned so they try to force their way in. This is a receipe for chaos as well as tarnishing our othersise good name.
@Jakoyo, in penalty taking luck usually counts greatly for both the taker and keeper. One can score, shoot wide or keeper may block. Hamza Muwonge happened to have saved Danny’s shot but that does not mean that Danny cannot send him the wrong direction next time. I honestly do not read much about Muwonge. He simply had an opportunity to be interviewed and as expected he felt good about him being the best shot stopper who knows Danny or any other player for that matter. Hiyo ni Kawaida.
For God and my beloved club – Kogallo
The game i witnessed yesterday was a Gor team that was playing without any sense of urgency especially in the second half.Some of the players were just standing around holding onto their waist.Dan Sserenkuma penalty was taken with so much casualty that left most fans scratching their heads.I think some Gor players need to also step up to be taking penalties instead of relying on Sserenkuma all the time.Penalty taking should be competive amongst team mates.Bobby Willamson substitution is also questionable,i mean i don’t have to be a coach to see that Patrick Oboya didn’t need to be subed.He created scoring opportunites compared to his repalcement Obwoge whom hardly touched the ball.Coach also makes changes to late in the game hence the subs who come in don’t have an impact on the game.I thought we had learnt alot from the Esperance game,at this pace Kogalo we will just continue to be a shadow at the continental level.That’s just my opinion.
no heroic display by saving one penalty. It was a penalty Muwonge and that alone cannot get you to national team. Just be happy yu play BIG BOYS before a BIG crowd. Your joy is that you broke the heart of many. You will be scored through penalties, headers, volleys, etc. don’t narrow football too much
in fact what I am saying @jakoyo, make sensible contribution that can improve MY life as a Kogalo fun. Forget Muwonge
Mmmmh! eti TOP FRY FC? hi ni team ndongo jamani, bobby, kik ihinygi ahinya,imajin hawajapata ata one point kwa table,goal ndyo moja,,just give them 4 goals nd leav them,lnfact score them nd leav 4 them the points…kogalo juu!…ama niaje ? donge?…
what happened to Blackberry Odhiambo?