Gor Mahia take on Bandari
Fresh off their impressive midweek win over Sofapaka, Gor Mahia will be looking to consolidate their lead atop the 2017 Kenya Premier League when they take on Bandari in Kisumu on Saturday.
Gor Mahia are riding the crest of a wave of brilliant form that has seen them record impressive victories over Sofapaka and Tusker, putting a serious dent in the title aspirations of those two teams.
Bandari are sliding in the opposite direction having lost two succesive games, 0-3 to Tusker and 0-1 to Chemelil. But coach Dylan Kerr knows that it will not be a walk in the park.
“It is going to be a tough game. Since we have gone eleven matches unbeaten, every team now wants to beat Gor Mahia. People want us to lose, but I am proud of my players as they have proved those critics wrong. ” said Kerr to the Standard.
With 36 goals to their credit, the Gor Mahia attack is hitting on all cylinders with Blackberry, Kagere and Tuyisenge all finding the net with regularity.
“We have only conceded three goals. We are now creating chances and scoring goals. ”
A win for Kogalo will take them 11 points clear and closer to the title. But coach Kerr does not want his players to put the cart before the horse.
I saw Bandari the first time I came to Kenya when they beat us on penalties. My players have a lot to do. It is not a revenge mission against Bandari. Revenge always causes problems because players start doing things that they are not used to do in training and that is when the unexpected happens. We are going into this game with the same mentality of getting three points, nothing else.” he concluded to the Standard.
I want to state categorically that it is not in doubt irrespective of whatever formulae we use that We Have Taken This Thing .
Having said so , it brings me to an issue that needs to be discussed even as we are on our Grand March .
The question is , are we able to sit on the table of Africa with our hitherto peers as equals like it was in the 70s and 80s ?
This must , moreso if we appreciate that we have outgrown the Tuskers , Sofapakas , Afcs , inform the basis of our conversations going fwd .
Questions keep on being asked , if the current squad fits the African bill , and if so , if we will be able to retain them and if not , y ? , and what must we then do .
Secondly , Are our finances In order so that when Africa comes , we can hit the ground running without looking back ?
Assuming we lose some of the players we have , do we have a contingency plan ? , and besides that , have we identified areas to reinforce taking into consideration that its a totally different opposition we will be up against ?
The earlier we the Supporters and the Funs are given a reality check , the better , bcoz if we dont Plan to Plan then we will definitely be caught in very embarassing but avoidable situations .
Finally , I want to slightly deviate from the subject by making a plea to the New Governor of Kisumu to do for me 2 things .
1. Remove that eyesore that is the garbage dump next to the stadium , refill it and create a training ground and park in it
2. Just like the county of Vihiga did with respect to Vihiga Football club , I pray that if u can adopt e.g Palos Fc to be the county team , then we shall be able to recreate in the city what we had in the form of Kisumu Hotstars fc and Kisumu Blackstars fc with their attendant benefits to Gor Mahia as people with an Institutional memory of Gor Mahia n its feeder teams may appreciate .
Very brilliant ideas from a great mind. Failing to plan is planing to fail.
@teddy jakom sofaset, you have raised a valid points that if we would be having a serious EC then K’ogalo would be dinning on the same table with African giants.
But you see the problems as you have mentions is lack of foresight. We have an office that is not aware that early social, physical and mental/ psychological preparations is the does to success in football.
There has never been shortcut in any thing more so in regards to football. The caliber of players we have can match any one in the continents
Thanks Teddy, I hope people are being heard by someone. The current playing unit if maintained with very little tweaking can match anyone in Africa, problem that I have seen in the past is that we usually let it until too late in our preparation for CAF. Can it be done a bit differently this time?
I want to know;
Is it true that Kenya will host CECAFA 2017 Edition?
Which teams will play?
What is now the final fate of Zoo and Nakumatt?
Will Thika United be relegated as I have always dreamed and wished?
Will Ingwe beat K-sharks in the GoTV shield finals to lift a trophy for the first time since 2013?
How many points will we garner from;
Bandari
Ulinzi
Kakamega Homeboyz
Kariobangi Sharks
Chemelil Sugar
Mathare United
Western Stima
Gor Mahia 3- Bandari 1 . . .
We surely have outgrown this part of Africa I.e Kenya , Uganda , Tanzania , Rwanda , Burundi .