Kipkirui gunning for golden boot
Gor Mahia’s new sensation, Nicholas Kipkirui is determined to build on his good start and finish as top scorer in the premier league. Kipkirui joined from Zoo Kericho and not much was expected from him. But he has proven doubters wrong with his ability to place himself in the right spot at the right time to score.
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Gor Mahia forward Nicholas Kipkirui is keen on bagging the Golden Boot at the end of the season after a promising start to life at the club.
Kipkirui, who joined the SportPesa Premier League champions from Zoo on a four-year contract, admits playing for K’Ogalo is a dream come true.
“I love Gor Mahia. I have always wished to play at the top level and my launching pad is K’Ogalo,” he said on Sunday after Gor floored Sofapaka 1-0 in a tough encounter.
The youngster has scored five goals this season – three in the league and two in the Caf Confederation Cup.
“Any slip up in your form at Gor will see you lose your first team place and that is what I want to avoid because I want to make a name by becoming the top striker at Gor,” he said.
“My target this season is to net 15 goals in the league and 10 goals at continental level. I also want to lead Gor Mahia to the final of the Confederation Cup,” added the Kipchimchim Boys High School alumnus.
With seven appearances in the league and two at continental level, the 22-year-old has established himself as a regular in a crowded department that has big names like Jacques Tuyisenge and Dennis Oliech.
“Unlike other teams, Gor is a star-studded outfit. It’s not easy to be among the starting 11. The competition is stiff, you must work hard,” said Kipkirui.
He added: “Even those you see on the bench are equally good. You only need to attend our training sessions and see how each player works hard to impress the coach.”
He said the stiff competition has helped him to improve his game and adapt to the flowing and attacking football that is the trademark of the 17-time champions.
Well said, Jagot. A focused professional works with targets. How about we professional fans of the Mighty K’Ogalo….. what do we bring on the table. As Kipkirui goes for the golden boot; as Jausenge guns for the golden boot; as Oliech takes aim at the top scorers gong, we as their supporters should register as Gor Mahia members. Out of this bloggers, Gor Mahia can boast of 300 newly registered members.
Truly you have demonstrated that you deserve to don the green army attire.Good luck kip, keep up the determination and prove yourself to Gor fraternity.However, expect an equal measure of criticism and scorn if you lose form like the foreigner from Burundi.Wishing you the best of luck in your aspirations and ambitions.
Go Go for it Kip. You have already proved that you can do it. All the Best
All the best young man…
Go Go Go Kip. Truly you have all what it takes to make you achieve your objective of golden boot. Wishing the best.
Kipkirui has proven himself in such a short time. You go boy, sky is the limit.
Go Kip Go!
Jagot kip working hard and maintain focus and discipline and the sky will be the limit!
Follow diligently in the footsteps of my childhood heroes in the old Nakuru All Stars- Center back Jimmy Rero his shot stopper brother Kimutai and Nakuru High alumnus and Harambee stars ace goalkeeper David Sawe!
In victory and glory, in defeat and agony K’Ogalo for ever!
go go kip
I had no idea kip is that young.What better teammates to learn from than Oliech and Tuyisenge.All the best…you have been given the platform to shine,go for it!!!
He has made his ambitions known, a challenge to the technical team to help him achieve his desires.
Bravo Kip, you have the focus
In the beginning was kip the father , Kip the father had two twin sons and he named one Kipkirui and the other Kipyegon , in their later life Kipkirui joined Gor Mahia the husband of teams while Kipyegon joined Afc Leopards the wife of teams and while Kipkirui ‘s journey headed to the top of the league with accompanied stints in foriegn capitals e.g Angola and others to come , Kipyegon’s journey took a journey to the very bottom of the league table with stints in Machakos , Kakamega , Bungoma etc , the long and short of this is that choices have consequences and while kipkirui is now enjoying the consequences of his choices , Kipyegon is languishing below the team he was signed from .
Kip , keep on kipping
on and your hard coupled with your wise choice will surely bear fruits .
@Teddy…hehehe very hilarious my brother.
@Jasego can you shed some light on this back door illegal and primitive award of unearned points?. It is now confirmed that FKF officials have again awarded Tusker three (3) free points which were deducted from Western Stima’s accumulated points. Why should team be docked points and the same points be awarded to the team that have lost the match in the field?
The docking is OK but not adding points left right centre to the losing teams…these FKF officials are again playing the same dirty replica games that denied Gor Mahia being crowned Champions two years ago. Tusker was the beneficiary of this FKF confusion and madness. This need to be stopped as Tusker can’t claim to overtake other teams that have really worked very hard and earned genuine points.
When will this baby-sitting of Tusker by FKF stop? This is against the good game philosophy of fair play embodied by FIFA.
@Jamigori my brother i am currently traversing your home county encompassing Migori Town to Mihuru in Suna West ending up at Bondo Nyironde and God Kweru…Hence my delayed response but those Mwendwa Corruptions of awarding points for non sporting on-field reasons i don’t support. He can dock but to award tusker the same after losing the game in 90 mins fairly is wrong. FkF and Kpl try everything whenever we are poised for a 3 peat to deny us from keeping the trophy forever but we shall prevail. Migne is Kariobangi Sharks Technical Director unofficially so it doesn’t surprise me he is thinking in the same capacity as his boss Nick Mwendwa
@Jasego, welcome to the Migori. I wish I was at home, I could have slaughtered a goat for you. Migne has become technical advisor of Kariobangi and we are Gor Mahia waiting to revenge.
I hope you are not looking for Migori gold.
Hehe owadwa am on some business not gold related though. I’ll be back on friday to prepare well for NA Hussein Day test…
@jamigori & @jasego the same fate of MAPENDELEO can be witnessed by FKF / Nick Mwendwa owned Harambee stars provisional squad selection that favored Sharks and Mathare.
I wonder how two keepers can earn a call up from K/Sharks and then they are biased towards Kipkirui,Miguna and oliech cause of K’ogalo. My humble prayer is that K’Ogalo should excel in the continental front GOD willing since i have lost patriotism principles when it comes to supporting KENYA.
@OT, I do concur with you. I am also shifting focus to fully support Gor Mahia 125% from Mwendwa’s biased Harambee Stars. I can’t imagine players like Kipkirui, Oliech “the menace”, Miguna, Samuel Onyango, Bonface Omondi and Lawrence Juma being ignored and overlooked by the Harambee Stars Coach Mignet. I do not think that there a striker in Kenya that can partner well with Olunga in the offensive attack like Oliech.
As long as the likes of the former coach of Kariobangi Okumbi sits in the technical bench, we should not expect any change in the team.
MWENDWA & MIGNE ON THE RECEIVING END WITH SPORTS JOURNALIST
NAIROBI NEWS
Harambee Stars coach Sebastian Migne has left out Gor Mahia duo Kenneth Muguna and Nicholas Kipkurui from his squad which is set to commence preparations for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and 2020 Africa Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers.
Muguna and Kipkurui are missing despite largely impressing for the Kenyan champions in local and continental assignments.
Curiously, Kariobangi Sharks goalkeeper, Brian Bwire, who has only played one Kenyan Premier League match out of a possible 12 during the 2018/2019 Kenyan Premier League season, has been included in the squad.
THE STAR
Despite banging goals with ease since his return to the local football, veteran Gor Mahia striker and Kenya’s all time top scorer Dennis Oliech was left out as Harambee Stars coach Sebastien Migne named a 25-man local based squad for the forthcoming Africa Cup and Chan qualifiers.
Since his return from retirement, Oliech has been on a scoring spree at Gor and has displayed leadership qualities, generating debate on whether he should be called up to the national team ahead of the Afcon finals slated for between mid June to July in Egypt. However, Migne overlooked the burly striker for youthful ones in his squad released on Saturday.
Guys, the docking of points of W. Stima is legit. They used a Tusker player on loan in December but the player’s contract was ending in December 31st. This are the reasons you need someone who knows the law and not just loving soccer in your TB. It has nothing to do with Tusker, Gor or Mwendwa.
Likewise our TB seemed unaware that 1Xbet and Sportpesa was going to cause a clash in CAF. Simba had previously suffered that fate but looks like we were not prepared or got the requirement in time
@Dan Original, I have no problem of docking points but why give the losing team free points at the expense of other teams that have worked hard to earn their points like Sofapaka, Gor Mahia, Mathare etc. Yes points should be docked but not given free to either the losing or drawing teams.
@Jamigori , unfortunately on this matter of dock and reward ,@Dan Original is right and this is solely based on the rules that all the clubs sign on to , sadly and to add on to it , Western Stima were brought upto speed before the game but insisted on going ahead and choices like they say has consequence and the consequence on this is that Western Stima’s ignorance is Tusker’s gain , feelings kando .
On the issue of Migne and Mwendwa , what that shows is that Migne is a puppet of Mwendwa because just to use Goalkeeper’s Bwire’s case , a player whether at club level or national team is selected based on the latest known form that is unless Migne attends K.Sharks training sessions , the exceptional to this rule applies only if a player not featuring regularly possess a huge talent gap between him and the next regular player e.g when Olunga was not getting regular playing time at Girona or Wanyama at Totenham , but Kario-BHANGI !!! Nooooo.
*the exception to this rule****
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NATIONAL TEAM OPEN TO PLAYERS ALSO FROM “THE STREET”, SAYS MIGNE
Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne says that the door to join the national team is open to all and not restricted only to players playing professionally with clubs.
The Frenchman said this as he presided over the team’s first training session of the year on Tuesday 19 February at the Kenya School of Monetary grounds.
AFCON, CHAN, Olympics
A total of 25 local based players had been called up by Migne last week as he sort to assess the players available to him as the country prepares for the 2019 AFCON as well as the qualifying processes for the 2020 CHAN and Olympics championships.
“The door for the national teams is always open for players from all over,” Migne told reporters on Tuesday.
“It is open to players from the KPL, NSL and even from the streets (if there are exceptional players). I’m not afraid about it because my willingness is to prepare the teams and also the youth players to give them the necessary experience.”
When the provisional 25 names had been named a lot of questions arose as to why two goalkeepers from Kariobangi Sharks had been called-up and why for instance a forward like Nicholas Kipkirui of Gor Mahia, who is having an astounding debut campaign with the defending league champions, had been snubbed.
Ghost
Migne, who is the first Stars coach since Jacob Ghost Mulee in 2004 to lead the team to the Nations Cup, explained his choices as follows;
On Kipkirui he said, “As you well know Gor Mahia are having a league game tomorrow so it wa
On Brian Bwire and John Oyemba he said, “I chose two goal keepers from Sharks because I did not find a good one from Nairobi. Maybe from outside the City but it was difficult to have them here from today.”
So in short what migne is saying is that Bwire,Oyemba and Shikalo are the only three good keepers in Nairobi.
Shame..coming from a national team coach who is supposed to be encouraging and nurturing players for future national team duties!!
@Oswozo Moziek , taken Migne ‘s warped logic about Goalkeepers from Nairobi , The last time I checked without any effort , Farouk Shikalo was from Mombasa , I wonder what lenses or Binoculars Migne used to see him in Nairobi
As much as Oliech looks like a ‘hot prospect’ he is yet to prove anything since his return. I support Coach Migne on his decision. Kipkurui also looks hot but I would not put him at the stars lineup for now. Players cannot and shud not join Harambee Stars just cause they are in Gor. Oliech still lucks 90 minute fitness. Kipkirui has however scored against Zamalek et Petro. I believe Oliech can match him but for now I totally prefer they handle what is on the Gor plate.
If the two players think they deserve these places then the nxt Gor Caf CC battles is just the place to force the descision down Migne’s throat. There is nothing Gor should panic about in the Harambee Stars selection. If Migne is that gud then he will succeed with whoever he has chosen. On the hand, this is now Coach Oktay best chance to show us what Oliech et Kipkirui can do in the hands of a good coach i.e. assuming he is one.
Gor needs it’s players intact at the moment without club vs country conflicts. The Caf CC became shaky ground once Gor was beaten by Angola. Shud Gor conquer the group stages, even the Gor office cleaners will be selected by Migne.
After the Angola show, I would not select any Gor player in H.Stars except for Kipkirui… I mention him simply cause of the spirit he displayed.
If Oliech injury made him miss Angola then the injury should also keep him off the HS selection. Meanwhile Kipkirui should do everything to avoid going the Phillemon/Wellington way.
These foreign coaches still have a long way to go, none of them has succeeded in the foreign lands. Oktay et Migne have at least beaten the superpowers at home, but Oktay has so far shown that he might be another journeyman coach after his Angola mess. He has two other chances coming his way.
Looking at this keenly, there is nothing much Oliech et Kipkirui will be missing from H.Stars that GorMahia cannot match. Kipkiprui in his short Gor Mahia stint will travel to Egypt, Angola et Algeria. He will be displaying his wares far more many times than what Harambee stars bus would offer. All he needs is proper concentration and good guidance from someone like Oliech, who has already been thru this journey. Does he really need H.Stars….No.
I hope that the club manages Stima tomorrow… but my heart remains in the Hussein Dey match.
This games are coming in too thick and fast even rotating the playing unit becomes problematic as KPL is getting tougher while continental assignments also beckon around the corner. Be as it may tomorrow’s game has to be played and preserving some players for Sunday’s game is paramount. Coach Oktay as per my proposition try the following players tomorrow versus western stima even though am away from the camp currently…
1. Boniface Oluoch
2. Philemon Otieno
3. Geoffrey Ochieng
4. Joachim Oluoch
5. Charles Momanyi
6. Ernest Wendo
7. Samuel Onyango
8. Lawrence Juma
9. Nicholas Kipkirui
10. Dennis Oliech
11. George Blackberry
N/B-Harambee Stars Coach Sebastian Migne go watch Oliech in action tomorrow with Kipkirui and decide if they warrant a place in your Chan Squad against burundi coming up soon…God Bless Mighty Mayienga
Jasego, you must never under rate western stima
@Ogolo this line-up will deliver the points…Don’t you find it good enough bro?
Boni will always concede