SoNy hold Gor Mahia
The clash between Gor Mahia and SoNy ended in a 1-1 tie at City Stadium on Sunday. From the beginning, SoNy seemed content with a draw as they sat back and absorbed pressure as Gor Mahia sent waves of attacks forward. Gor Mahia’s best chance to score came on 8 minutes when former Gor Mahia keeper Wycliff Kasaya handled a back pass. Rama Salim stepped up to take the freekick which came close before being deflected. The first half ended scoreless.
5 minutes into the second half, SoNy took the lead via Marwa Chamberi against the run of play.
Coach Zdravko Logarusic then made two changes; Off went Ali Abondo and Chris Wekesa for Kevin Omondi and Abbey Natty. Loga went for a 3 man backline to counter the SoNy Bunker defence. Gor Mahia pushed forward with Sserunkuma failing to connect to an Abbey Nettey cross.
Rama Salim scored the much needed equalizer in the 78th minute when he headed home a right wing cross from Sserunkuma. Minutes later, “Pablo” Njuguna was sent off for flooring Wycliff Kasaya with a left jab. Kasaya had obstructed Njuguna as a time wasting tactic.
Drama ensued after the game when a fan approached a policeman to report his stolen cell phone. The policemen with itchy trigger fingers responded by tossing a tear gas canister into the crowd, creating chaos as fans peacefully filed out of the stadium.
We have a good team but the problem is that we become aggresive after conceding a goal.That aside the boys played well more so in the 2nd half and were it nt for the poor officiating,we wld hv taken the 3 pts.
I think Loga has a fixed mind on those who play and those who don’t. Without strong mid, our ability to beat any KPL team convincingly is limited. Withdrawing Akumu on the 30th minute was not a great idea. We lost control of that midfield completely. I never knew that Naija guy is that good. Why bench him that much when we struggle to get goals. Hope we improve on that performance
I think we believed we would win the game outright. In the first half we were just moving the ball around without any threat to Kasaya. In fact it’s SONY who make any meaningfull attempt at our goal from those counterattacks. I believe we have a great striking force but the problem is only the midfilder to feed them. At times Danny was the one trying to win the balls and feed Rama from crosses instead of the midfielders doing that. On officiating we should not have any excuse. Did we need a third consecutive penalty without even venturing upfront? On Akumu’s sub I think it was a good idea. It’s actually helping us to ‘discover’ new talents like Wiper, Gaucho and Oga Natty. The issue of some players like Odhis having permanent positions in the team MUST change. In fact apart from a player or two in the mid the team is OK. It’s just upto our players to change their attitude since the league this year is gonna be tough.
On Pablo’s red card I think that was silly for him to do that. Physical assult is a direct red card. No excuse that the other player refused with the ball.
On hooliganism we still have not learnt anything. Throwing missiles onto the pitch should be a BIG NO although even our tear-gas-happy law enforcers should go for refresher courses. Why throw teargas into a crowd forcing themselves into the stadium yet the police cannot control the direction of the wind. How do they expect players to run after inhaling teargas. And what of the other peacefull spectators?
Guys Kenyan football has so tactfull. Not that Bandari and Sony have good football as compared to Ingwe and Gor respectively,what these teams do is to lock the game and drag it. They just come to creat only 5 chances but the rest is to spoil the game. That’s why top scorer in Tpl cant reach 20 goals. If you want to gauge your players,and see entertaining football, watch the following as they play each other. Ingwe,Gor,Tusker,Ulinzi, Thika, Chemelil,Kcb and Sofapaka.
After 10mins of watching, the match, I told the guy seated next to me that we were going to win the match 3-0, the guy who apparently was a mzee, told me,”kijana yangu, gor hawawezi kufunga bao zaidi ya moja kwa mechi”.
After the end of the 90mins, the mzee was vindicated, and he sadly told me,”Si nilikwambia! ?”
One of the reasons we didn’t win the league last season, was because of our results when it came to the so called ‘small teams’.I remember we won most of our matches againts the ‘big teams’, the likes of sofapaka, ingwe, tusker, ulinzi but when it came to the’small ‘ teams-city stars , oserian, rangers, muhoroni, sony we dropped points unnecessarily.
Gor mahia needs to be ruthless againts teams.The way we played the first 45mins, showed that the players thought that they had the win already even without scoring.We should never have any sacred player in that team, the coach seems to be having some untouchable players, particularly one notorious midfielder.
Again what is the need of wasting substitutes if after just 20 or 30 mins you sub a player.If you do so in one or two matches, that maybe a tactical substitution or maybe coz of an injury, but if in all the games you make like two subs in the first 45mins, it means that there is always a fielding problem.Yesterday we were ten men and kevo was limping seriously and we had exhausted our substitutions.
On njugunas’ red card, I didnt’ see the incident well, but if its’ true that he punched kasaya, thats a straight card. But what about kasaya who was withholding the ball?, isnt’ that not ayellow card??? How about the three sony players who were literally cornering sserukuma inside the net???
Omusala you are right on the lock the game by these team annalysis, we never get to watch football, bure kabisa! Yet we must:
i) Establish our regard with each team and plan for every counter approach from such opponents.
ii) Weigh all the players we have at GM and decide who is not needed so that we don’t keep mourning about injured players but have confidence in those at camp and give them a chance to work out.
Otherwise we must get over with this immature midfield situation, how comes we cannot hold the ball going forward especially in the first halves? We seem to play too much back passes without any daring forward moves in the first half until we are pressurized with either time or a conceded goal? I disagree with the idea that we lack midfielders, they just need (our midfielders) to have confidence going forward carrying the ball!
And maybe one day Rama may turn out to be an extra ordinary attacking midfielder rather than a striker, from my view.
I have been quietly watching our games this season and i’m sorry to say this:
1. Our coach is always gambling after reading comments on this blog. Just the other day someone suggested to him to try the Nigerian and wow! he appeared. Does he know the strengths / weaknesses of his players?
2. Our team is inconsistent even with all those fans behind them. I am still waiting for the game that we dominate and score at will or at least according to plan.
3. Poor dead balls. What do Odhis and his friends discuss when we get a free kick? The resulting kick is always confusing even to themselves. This has happened so many times in the recent past.
4. The EC and stewards are milking the cow dry. There are always several queues at the VIP entrance. One is for ticket holders and the other is for less money in cash and girlfriends for free entry. Even the bridge branch now operates at the VIP entrance awaiting forceful entry.
5. The ‘Hooligan’ branch is back. There is a group that has so much energy that needs to be put to good use and very soon. I fear when i imagine what will happen when this group goes wild on Jogoo road. They are fully charged and will soon explode.
6. Gate collections kept secret. The player sit in or strike has everything to do with the secrecy of gate collections. I think this is the grabbing season. Someone is eating big.
Finally, if we expect a great season, as Loga says we need to win 20 games in the league. My brother you have lost one home game (Ulinzi) and had a draw in another game which we needed to win (Sony). Don’t brake fans hearts in the last game when we can and should win it now.
The few matches that I have been able to watch this season courtesy of SS, midfield has been Kogallo’s greatest undoing. We seriously lack a play marker. I watched Tusker/AFC game on Saturday and was impressed by Patillah Omoto of AFC and Colins Okoth Gatusso of Tusker. They really stood out in the midfield of their respective teams. Their passes were lethal whenever they made them. Unfortunately that quality was seriously lacking and has been lacking in our midfield since the beginning of the season. May be it is time, the other players be given a chance.
For God and my beloved club – Kogallo
I have been to every single game Gor has played so far this season and to be honest none has kept me on the edge of my seat!
The performance has been wanting and very labored. We cannot string more than two passes at once,our midfield is clueless and our strike force is just poor.
Ssrenkuma is not the lethal player we bought him.His movement is predictable and he can also be very selfish.
I would rather speak the truth here instead of giving false praise.The boys need to wake up and justify donning that green shirt!!the league table somehow favors us,however,poor performances soon catches up with you and it will reflect on the league table as well!!
@ Albert Kosero ; The other player who happens to be Gathu”Gaucho” Was given some chance, we also introduced the tricky Kevo and of cause Abby Natty, but ni ball hudunda pande zote. PABLO is slowly picking up and our midfield will be energizied soon. PABLO was the man of the match and Mosoti.
Akumu was completely out of form and you could not play “Anguyo” who is stiff over the fast sony players. Our game plan worked. Hopefully Kiongera and Lavatsa will be back soon.
Gor should keep on training hard and we shall be home and dry.
@ Dan be informed that Pablo had all the right to jab “KASAYA” properly after he infringing him and Sserekuma.
There is nothing like time wasting when the ball is inside the net and there is nothing wrong with collecting the ball for that matter. In the football pitch my friend, these guys feelings,emotions and tensions are not the same as those of us sitting pretty and watching from the stands or viewing on the screens.
Even Suarez had to bite Ivanovic shoulder yesterday, when the guy made the going quite a hell for him. Kasaya intentions were very un-sportman-ship from the word go.Shame on Him!!!
Every teams that plays Kogalo is going to “park the bus”. Logarusic is going to need to come up with a strategy to counter this. Even Anse Re Union frustrated Kogalo with this strategy. And this is why Loga is well compensated. Early goals can help. Maybe play 3-4-3. I dont know. All I know is that GM will drop very many points if they dont come up with a strategy to counter “park the bus”
I liked the work rate of Oga and the inexperienced but skillful Gaucho. Our game is good but the last pass is also failing us. The last time we got it right was when we had the Pinches/Blackberry/Ngwa combination. I still pray we will get it right.
@Ogango Trailer, On Njuguna jabbing Kasaya, there is no way it can be right. Otherwise hangepata straight red card. What if the Gor players picked a ball from the many ball boys and went with it to the centre? Just a thought.
I believe this week we will beat HBoyz and continue our accent to the top
Gentlemen I must concede that I never watched this game in any form as circumstances beyond me kept me holed up in Dunga Unuse.
What I want to tell our coach is to read the mood in the blog. The likes of Dan, Arrumtiddi, Mcosweto, Albert Kosero, Creative Village, The Trailer, Kassam Mwivangano and Joe Riaga don’t just post comments for posterity. Suffice it to say, these gentlemen post comments when it is absolutely necessary. Something is truly wrong here.
Since the Anse Re-union debacle in Nairobi many fans have bemoaned the dysfunctional midfield. Many bloggers dug into K’Ogalo’s rich history and recounted the heroic performances of our past that revolved round great midfielders. Many stories have been told of legendary tacticians that have sat on K’Ogalo’s tech bench. The sole purpose of these accounts was to motivate the team and indicate the benchmark. As it is nothing has changed and the lamentations continue.
I know that all teams within and without the TPL (the likes of Borabu Chiefs and Timsales) draw motivation and solace by avoiding defeat in the hands of K’Ogalo. A good result against Gor Mahia is medicinal to many ailing teams and is a lifeline to many coaches (SoNy being an example). That however, should not be an excuse. As head of tech bench, the buck stops with the coach. This is the reason why I want to look our coach straight in his eyes and tell him that I fear he has exhausted his bag of tricks. This not withstanding, I still have faith in him. To tell him so to his face I deliberately want this to sting him into some extraordinary rejuvenation. The coach must just re-invent. We cannot win those 20 matches through mere talk. We must plan and plan well. At this rate every team will come and play a closed game against us. It is therefore up to the tech bench to come up with new ideas on how to win no matter the circumstances. Do smell the coffee Mr. Coach.
ONE GAME AT A TIME MANTRA
Last season our club adopted a strategy to focus one game at a time that really worked for us. We were only separated by one point with the leaders, Tusker FC.
The strategy helped study our opponents style of play, formation, physical fitness and mental strength. The strategy also helped us not pay too much attention to our perenial rivals , AFC Leopards and emerging clubs such Sofapaka, Kakamega Homeboyz and Thika United.
I am also happy this blog is talking less and less on politics. The less RAO this and RAO that, the better.However, if we must talk about him, it must be something either relevant to our club or general football.
I wish also to commend all bloggers for their objective comments except a few tribal stereotypes we have resolved to bury for the common good of this great club. Gor Mahia is a big club with a following with and without borders.
I pledge to pay my seat every time I come to the stadium. I commit myself to be a responsible fan. I promise to be obedient to the leadership of this great club. As I have often stated, i am in Gor Mahia by choice. I will vote at the AGM and seek an elective position if i want. This is my inalienable rights no one can take from me. In any case, I am ready to defend the white and green colour.
K’Ogalo,
Gor gor Mahia *2
K’Ogalo,
Gor, timbe duto yuak ni
hold it guys!i long for the days when Dave Kamoga could start the ball in goal to Bobby, to Basanga, to Austin, to Engine, to Onyango fundi, to Magongo, to Jogoo, Jogoo banana ball to Omuga, Dawo kwa kichwa ndani ama corner. You know then u could tell a goal is coming just from the way the ball was being controlled. Our midfield could do anything with the ball. They used to move with the ball wherever it was. I think Len Juliens then Jack Johnson moulded players artistically with clinical precision and allowed everybody to fight for a place in the line up, no sacred players, Luoga i am not that sure.
I can now understand why SONY goalkeeper Odhiambo Kasaya could not fit in Gor Mahia. This boy is so childish. I saw the live game on TV as the boy trapped Gor Mahia Player Njuguna in the net. Njuguna had to pull Kasaya’s jersey and push him down in order to free himself from being bullied by the sony goalkeeper. I think the referree was unfair to give a red card to Gor Mahia player only. This goalkeeper behaved like Suarez, by beating up Njuguna and getting away with it.
Four things only I want to say:
1. The coach doesn’t seem to know his players well, thats why he likes “playing safe” with a certain starting 11 even if they are half fit. Look at Rama for instance, the guy surely needs some rest and why not, he is been playing almost 3 seasons continuous, he is fatigued and disappointingly ineffective.He needs like upto six games rest.I believe every player on the team roll deserves to play a role.
2. At the start of the season the coach tended to rely on Kiongera so much and even toyed with the idea of sidelining Sserunkuma, that may have had a disorienting effect on the Ugandan such that now that he appears only as a fall back choice striker, he cannot easily find his footing; the loss of Kiongera has also disoriented the coach so much, he seems not to know what to do.
3. The more games they play without scoring leads to rising anxiety in the team and may then lead to further failure in front of goal as everybody start fearing to be blamed, you need a motivational expert
4. The goal drought is going to continue for some time, that everybody can see.June transfer window is around the corner; this is the time to identify just one lethal striker to assist Sserunkuma(not to replace), and negotiate early.And why, we have that Natty guy