Up next: Western Stima then Power Dynamos

Having beaten Bidco FC  in a friendly match this past weekend, Gor Mahia will now face a sterner test against KPL side Western Stima. According to goal.com, the match will be played on Wednesday at Moi stadium Kisumu. This stadium was the scene of wild celebrations when Gor Mahia won the league last season.

Though this is a friendly match, the turnout is bound to be high given the passionate support that Gor Mahia has in this town. It is therefore important for Gor Mahia and the county of Kisumu to cooperate in providing adequate security. The club cannot afford any lapses.

For coach Frank Nuttall, it is an opportunity to once again test his new and existing players and continue to explore various combinations. Nuttall expressed his happiness at the win over Bidco last weekend:

“I’m happy we have started the New Year on a sound note. I believe we are on the right track and I look forward to a good season. To me, it doesn’t matter who scores, the team victory has to come ahead of everything else” he said to michezoafrika.com

However Nuttall should be concerned about his strikeforce which appeared blunt. Whereas at the beginning of last season, we knew going in that Dan Sserunkuma would spearhead the attack, it is not clear in 2015. Nuttall has about one month to find the two players who can play well together upfront.

Assistant coach Frank Ouna also expressed satisfaction with the win over Bidco and expressed the club’s intent to beat Western Stima.

“We want to win the game. It is an important game for us. We have a new team and every match for us counts a lot. We are taking every match very seriously. This is perhaps the second time we are playing together in a friendly match after playing Bidco United.”

For Gor Mahia fans its another opportunity to assess the new signings. Some players did well on Saturday most notably, Karim Nizigiyimana, Khalid Aucho and Bernard Odhiambo. In particular, new signing “Rooney” Omino will play against the team his father coaches.

But It is one thing to play well against Bidco which is a lower tier team. Fans will be interested to see what the team can do against KPL calibre players. Others who did not impress should be using this opportunity to show improvement.

 Power Dynamos

Famous Zambian side, Power Dyanamos will be camping in Nairobi in preparation for their CAF confederation encounter with Al Khartoum of Sudan. While in Nairobi, they will play a friendly against Gor Mahia on February 1.

Club secretary Ricky Mamfunda said in an interview from Kitwe yesterday that weather conditions in Kenya are similar to Sudan. “We decided to take the team to Nairobi because its proximity to Sudan and the weather conditions,”.

Power are expected to leave for Nairobi on January 25. They will face Al Khartoum on February 14.

Julius Situmbeko who is famous for the botched deal with Gor Mahia in January of 2014 was in the Power Squad until November of 2014. It is not clear if he has re-signed with Power.