Gor Mahia in the 1984 Africa Champions Cup

Gor Mahia qualified for the 1984 Africa Champions cup by virtue of having won the national league in 1983. There was an air of excitement as British coach Len Julians had brought a level of tactical advancement that had previously been unseen.

The mood had been dampened by the sudden departure of Charles Otieno, a player whom Julians had described as “The Engine of the team”. Otieno disappeared from camp while Kogalo were training for the 1984 CECAFA club cup and later resurfaced as a Kenya Breweries player. But that sour mood was tempered by the arrival of the brilliant Abbas Magongo as well as another new signing: George Onyango “Fundi”. Both had been brilliant at the 1984 CECAFA cup. The team was vastly experienced with players who had seen continental competition before like George Otieno “Solo”, Peter Otieno “Bassanga”, Bob Ogolla, Austin Oduor and Sammy Onyango. These were joined by other players who had played key roles in Gor Mahia’s 1983 season like Abbey Nassur, Hezborn Omollo, Abdalla Shebe and John Okello Zangi.

First Round: Gor Mahia vs Young Africans

In the opening round, Gor Mahia were pitted against Tanzania mainland champions, Young Africans. The Tanzanian duo of Abdallah Shebe and Abbas Magongo were to return to their old stomping grounds and would provide invaluable inside knowledge.

It was bound to be a tough outing as Tanzanian sides had previously proven difficult. And this Yanga teams had highly experienced national team players like Ahmed Amasha who had been voted the best left back at the 1983 CECAFA senior challenge cup, goalkeeper Joseph Fungo Kihwelu Mussa, Lila Shomari and captain Makumbi Juma.

The first leg was to be played in Dar es Salaam on April 7. Gor Mahia established camp in Mombasa to get acclimatized to the heat and humidity of Dar.  The match ended 1-1. John Okello “Zangi” opened the scoring in the 67th minute. Young Africans managed an equalizer 10 minutes later.

Line-Ups:

Gor Mahia: Tirus Omondi, Bassanga, Vigo, Austin Oduor, Magongo, Hezborn Omollo, Abbey Nassur, John Okello Zangi, Abdallah Shebe, George Onyango, Sammy Onyango

Yanga: Joseph Fungo, Yusuf Bana, Ahmed Amasha, Athumani Chama, Juma Mukambi (Felix Fred), Hussein Iddi, Charles Boniface (Omari Hussein), Abeid Mziba, Elisha John, Ali Mchumila

The return leg was played at the newly constructed Nyayo national stadium. Yanga proved a tough nut to crack. In particular Joseph Fungo in goal frustrated Gor Mahia until the 84th minute. From a corner kick, Abdallah Shebe passed the ball to Sammy Onyango who unleashed a ferocious drive that finally beat Fungo and enabled Gor Mahia to win 1-0. The next day, the Daily Nation headline read ” Sammy Onyango blasts Gor Mahia into round 2“.

 

Line Ups :

Yanga: Joseph Fungo,Yusuf Bana, Amasha ,Shomari, Athmani Chama, Juma Mkambi, Omar Hussein Kevin Keegan, Charles Boniface Mkwassa,  Abeid Mziba, Fred Felix Minziro

Gor Mahia: Tirus Omondi, George Otieno Solo, Peter Otieno Bassanga, John Bobby Ogolla, George Otieno Virgo, Abbas Khamis Magongo, Hesborn Omolo, John Okello Zangi, Abdallah Shebe, George Onyango Fundi, Sammy Onyango Jogoo

 

Round 2: Gor Mahia vs Zamalek

Gor Mahia then faced what looked like an uphill task in the second round when they were pitted against Egyptian giants Zamalek who had easily dispatched CS Sfaxien of Tunisia 4-1 on aggregate in the first round. They expected to easily dispatch the Kenyan side as well. But coach Len Julians was confident. He had studied videos of the Egyptian side and he said his players had promised to give him a good wedding present as his son was to wed in two weeks. Gor Mahia thus embarked for their  flight to Cairo in a confident mood.

After 40 minutes, Zamalek could not break the deadlock. They were surprised at the level of resistance they faced as they expected to whitewash Gor Mahia. Then the moment of truth happened. Abbas Magongo tackled an Egyptian player. Reports indicated that he was fouled outside the box then rolled into the penalty box upon which the Sudanese referee awarded a penalty. Gor Mahia players were livid with the referee whom they thought was openly biased. After the disputed penalty was awarded , the referee inexplicably red-carded Magongo who raised his hand in bewilderment. The action was difficult to explain.  Reports say Magongo had been the best player on the field. Gor Mahia players lost it. George Otieno Solo and Abbey Nassur in particular roughed up the referee while Abdallah Shebe and coach Julians ran into the field to restrain the players.  George Onyango was accused of attacking a policeman.

The referee claimed his hand was broken and abandoned the match. Gor Mahia was disqualified. Zamalek proceeded to the next round. 6 Gor Mahia players and coach Julians were suspended from CAF matches for two years. Gor Mahia was suspended from CAF tournaments for two years.

Gor Mahia appealed the decision. They said that the red card to Magongo was unfair. Why would the referee call a penalty, then only after the penalty had been taken, walk to Magongo and show him the red card? This was the crux of the Gor Mahia appeal. Gor Mahia further noted that only Solo and Nassur had attacked the referee. This was shown in video evidence. And George Onyango clearly did not attack a policeman. Furthermore there is no evidence that the referee broke his hand.  The appeal was rejected. The CAF organizing committee claimed that the appeal was time barred. However KFF secretary general Mahallon Danga  provided evidence that the appeal fees and letter were sent on time. He proceeded to accuse CAF whose headquarters are in Egypt of trying to lower the standards of football in certain parts of black Africa. CAF were unhappy with Danga whom they suspended for two years.

Zamalek went on to win the Africa champions cup in 1984. In particular they beat Zambian champions 6-2 on aggregate in the next round. Gor Mahia put their troubles aside and retained the national league in 1984.

In 1985, Zamalek returned to Kenya on a mission to make peace with Gor Mahia. They held a joint training session with Gor Mahia at city stadium. Chairman Zack Mbori gave all the Zamalek players kitenge shirts emblazoned with the words ” I support Gor Mahia”.