Gor Mahia 1 US Bitam 0
courtesy of futaa.com
Kenya’s representatives in the CAF Champions League Gor Mahia, saw off Gabonese champions US Bitam 1 – 0 in the clash played at the Nyayo National Stadium on Saturday 8 February to start their 2014 continental campaign on a high.
Dominant possession from Gor Mahia saw them cause the first scare on the eighth minute when Danny Sserunkuma raced through in an attempt to beat Stephane Yves Bitseki in the US Bitam goal but the keeper did well to dodge him cheekily before clearing as Rama Salim rushed in.
Walusimbi impressive
The visitors managed to break forward on the 17th minute through Junior Aubyang but his low cross was closer to Jerim Onyango in the Gor Mahia goal than his team mate Abdoulaye Coulibaly.
Ugandan international Godfrey Walusimbi who so far had impressed did one of his great runs forward on the left flank and managed to deliver a beauty of a cross on the 21st minute but his cross met no one in the box and flashed across the face of goal before Bitam cleared.
Jerim save
Ten minutes later both sides won free kicks in inviting positions just outside the box but Claude Mve skied his just before Sserunkuma repeated the feat on the other end.
As the half drew to the end, Jerim Onyango pulled a world class save to keep Meye Axel’s header off the target while on the other end George Blackberry Odhiambo narrowly missed the target with a well taken shot after picking a loose ball at the edge of the box.
Turning point
The game’s turning point came in the second half when on the hour mark, Yves Bitseki was sent off for handling the ball outside his area and Fabien Owono came in as a replacement with Claude Mve the player sacrificed.
The new keeper got a taste of the action when Dan Sserunkuma took a shot on goal on 72 minutes but it was straight at him and he made an easy save. That however was not the case two minutes later when Sserunkuma won a penalty after his shot was handled in the box. The Ugandan stepped forward to calmly slot home.
Missed chance
It could have been worse for the visitors on the 80th minute after Sserunkuma raced well to pick a dipping pass from the midfield but his shot beat the keeper and not the post.
Gor Mahia will travel to Libreville for the second leg of the tie scheduled for Saturday 15 February.
much better dont loose focus the second leg is in two weeks
Gor beats US Bitam in CAF Champions League first leg
Updated on 08/02/14 | By MICHEZOAFRIKA REPORTER
Gor Mahia have the upper hand in the second leg of the CAF Champions League qualifiers return match against Gabon’s US Bitam after a hard fought 1-0 first leg win courtesy of Dan Sserunkuma’s spot kick in Nairobi on Saturday 8th February.
The Kenyan Premier League champions began well with Ugandan signing Godfrey Walusimbi and George Blackberry Odhiiambo combining well to torment the visitors in the first quarter of an hour.
A rare chance for the visitors was through a close header in the 37th minute that keeper Fred Onyango managed to keep out for a corner.
Black berry should have opened the scoring with his lovely shot in the 40th minute but to the visitors reprieve it went out. The half time score line stood at nil nil.
In the 62nd minute US Bitam keeper Yves Stephanie for handled the ball outside the box to earn a red card that left his side one man less .Fablem Owono took over the gloves.
When the going got tough, Coach Booby Williamson introduced a fresh pair of legs with Innocent Mutiso replacing Blackberry while Jared Obwoge came on for Rama Salim
In the 70th minute, a handball by Bitam defender inside the box won Gor Mahia a penalty that Sserunkuma calmly put behind the net.
Sserunkuma would have scored a brace after a good job in beating two defenders but his 80th minute shot was denied by the post.
The slim win should give Gor Mahia a head start in Libreville when the two sides meet for the return leg.
Good job……..We still need to be more clinical in front of goal! and make use of Eric ochieng more often
GOR BIRO YAWNE YOO BEAT US BITAM…CONGRATS MAHIA
Gor beats US Bitam in CAF Champions League first leg
Updated on 08/02/14 | By MICHEZOAFRIKA REPORTER
Gor Mahia have the upper hand in the second leg of the CAF Champions League qualifiers return match against Gabon’s US Bitam after a hard fought 1-0 first leg win courtesy of Dan Sserunkuma’s spot kick in Nairobi on Saturday 8th February.
The Kenyan Premier League champions began well with Ugandan signing Godfrey Walusimbi and George Blackberry Odhiiambo combining well to torment the visitors in the first quarter of an hour.
A rare chance for the visitors was through a close header in the 37th minute that keeper Fred Onyango managed to keep out for a corner.
Black berry should have opened the scoring with his lovely shot in the 40th minute but to the visitors reprieve it went out. The half time score line stood at nil nil.
In the 62nd minute US Bitam keeper Yves Stephanie for handled the ball outside the box to earn a red card that left his side one man less .Fablem Owono took over the gloves.
When the going got tough, Coach Booby Williamson introduced a fresh pair of legs with Innocent Mutiso replacing Blackberry while Jared Obwoge came on for Rama Salim
In the 70th minute, a handball by Bitam defender inside the box won Gor Mahia a penalty that Sserunkuma calmly put behind the net.
Sserunkuma would have scored a brace after a good job in beating two defenders but his 80th minute shot was denied by the post.
The slim win should give Gor Mahia a head start in Libreville when the two sides meet for the return leg.
Well done! I’m proud of the team. Anyway our striking force need to work on finishing! But, the game wasn’t easy though. For ever Gor!
It was a good game we won…For me Walusimbi was fantastic and even our defence.Shakava,Calabar and Musa combined very well.Strikers r yet to be at their very best bt we hope we wll soon be seing goals!
Hai, kogalo inenga nang’o yawa? to mit na..
Gor Mahia’s nightmare in Gabon in 10 days’ time begun the moment the goalkeeper was rightly red-carded. Then came the spot kick that even compounded K’Ogalo’s misery in Libreville.
I say this because West African teams are never known for fair play. They will never stop at anything to achieve victory. On at least three occasions, West African states have used the military to intimidate Gor Mahia. Remember the Togolese when K’Ogalo played away to Entente: it started on arrival at the airport. Another very painful experience in the hands of the military was in Congo Brazzaville (although not in West Africa). I am almost certain that US Bitam will apply the same tactics through their government. The treatment Kenyan officials got in Gabon following the KQ crash is still fresh in our minds. They are nasty people. Our team should brace for harassment right from the airport by immigration officials. Then the team will be booked in some very noisy dingy in the name of a hotel. Come the match, more frustrations will come from the referee who will obviously be a West African. Judging from their reaction today, one could read they felt the refereeing was so much against them.
Our EC should be alert to these facts. The Gabonese or US Bitam authorities should not be entrusted with arranging for our stay in Libreville. K’Ogalo should send an advance party to Bitam to make safe and acceptable arrangements for hotel accommodation and training venue. This could be done with assistance from Kenya’s Consulate in Gabon.
I told you Guys.. Mambo bado. Does someone remember my line up. I was only wrong on Emugge starting ahead of Musa.. Shakava as I said before is the best Central defender in the country. Gor liet, Athi Gabon with my little savings.
Keep it up boys.
K”OGALO CAN START DREAMING
FIrst of all, my warmest congratulations to Sserunkuma, the goal for the wonderful spot kick that was taken with precision and ensured we collected maximum points on our homeground.
K’Ogalo can start dreaming. The three points we collected today is a big morale booster as we look forward to continue the winning streak during the return leg a few week later on.
No comment……..
1-0 is not safe!!!
1-0 is safe bcos if we loose 2-1 away in Gabon then we r thru’
What i saw yesterday at nyayo is wonderful the gabonees came for a draw thats why they were always down faking injuries that were not there,they were applying delaying tactics just to secure a draw so when we go to gabon we will beat then coz its them who will be under alot of pressure,but thanks boyz for that sweet win
Congratulations. Now who were those saying Shakava is slow. The lad proved himself yesterday and with more games he will be a star defender. I still feel calabar should be switched to play as a right back. Emuge and Shakava should be played as central defender with Calabar and Walusimbi playing as right and left backs. The Gabonese strikers are not that swift and cld easily be tamed by the three defenders. I also feel Denis Onyango should be given a chance too. I believe by the 3rd game the players will be physically fit and from that we will be hard to beat. Iam praying by Godz grace we win in Gabon.
HOOLIGANISM HURTING K’OGALO MORE THAN CORRUPTION
I want to say without any iota of contradiction that hooliganism is hurting this great club more than even corruption. Since the inception of this club a quarter of a century ago, very little have done to get rid of hooligans who are not scaring away supporters but also potential shirt sponsors.
At the beginning of every season, the club officials together with the technical team sit together to draw up the league program for the club and the budget. When they emerge from the boardroom to address the media, the most striking picture of them is of a desperate lot. Their coffers are normally empty thus resorting to begging. This situation is made worse whenever we are heavily penalized because of our rowdy fans .
How ironical when some people brag around that they can die for this club yet they act very irresponsibly?
During the kenya power charity cup tourney, guys with Gor jerseys were filmed carting away seats from the stadium. How shameful? Where for heavens sake, do you take a marabou stork? This is height of impunity at Gor Mahia.
I repeat. Sirkal is a hooligans name. It should be dismantled within the rank and file of the club. It is akin to such organized criminal groups such as Kamjesh, sungusungu, mungiki, and so forth. The lot is always high on something and react at the slightest provocation. Worse of all, we continue to loose innocent lives as a result.
I do hope the naivasha retreat that is bringing all stakeholders on board is going to find a lasting solution to the problem. Kenyan football has been held hostage by this goons who do not have football at heart.
VOLTAGE, shakavu haki anacheza,waah, playaz walicheza ,cograts boyz, motisha ndyo ipande…
Congrats to the players for making us proud.
I glad we won.I am sad it a 1-0 score line.I am sad it took us 70 mins to have a meaningful shot on target and when we did our opponents were 10 men.I am sad the Gabonese were stronger,fitter and quicker on the ball than our boys.I am sad the special second leg will be in West Africa where East African teams have,in the past,been treated with disdain and utter most disrespect.I am genuinely a sad man.
Like I said the first 5 games will determine whethe we have the qualities in the TB & team 2 move GM forward. Am not pressurizing but the TB’s tactical acumen is all that stands btween us & the next round.
We need an early goal b4 Bitam in the return leg. We need a high degree of defensive discipline & counter attacking strategies. My worry therefore is despite Flava,BB etc we r struggling 2 score frm open play.
Le Pastre what’s your take?
Otherwise kudos 4 the win & clean sheet.
@ voltage , you are dead right….there is no threat from the Gabonese strikers, they are very lethargic in front of goal, could explain why they have not won this year!
I think the return leg will be won by the striking force, either US Bitam or gor Mahia, therefore my bet would be for BW to go for all out attack in Gabon, perhaps deploy our 4 players most likely to score in any game – Kevin ade, Dan sserenkuma, oboya and obwoge.
I think lets be positive when commenting,like yesterdays game u could not blame even our strikers for not scoring goals reason is that these gabon guys just came for a draw,if u can remember when we scored thats when they started playing open game n we almost punished them twice with serre hitting the woodwork,hiyo red card really opened the game n how i wish it could have come a bit early
Benson disi, y can’t u predict 4raz the line up of ingwe wch r going to play wid e.d.f, natarisha niko karibu kutoka,sisi kama kogalo fanz 2ko mbele yenu,the green army,how sio voltage?
It’s going to be a tricky outing for us since a single goal cannot be enough guarantee. If we had a battle-hardened team like the goal of the 80 then we would be confident. The challenge is whether we bring in Eric and then play a more defensive game with sparodic counter-attacks in mind. I have in mind resting Rama and BB and having either Eric or Wanyonyi(though a bit inexperienced) and Obwoge to keep their forward line in check. Otherwise I hope BW has something in mind as he is more experienced in coming up with such strategies.
I was impressed by Chakava (such a young boy from a small team given such a big role in such a big tournament) and Walusimbi’s experience as well as being the cheerleader in the goal celebration. This shows how he has bonded into the team. We still expect the best from Kizito despite the occasional lapses. All in all we are getting somewhere and we will soon be stable and cruising to defend the KPL as well as have a stab at the CECAFA club cup.
How I pray that the two kenya teams proceed so that we can see last year’s finalists Pirates tackle Ingwe and us meeting Esperance, arguably one of Africa’s best. That experience will be good for Kenya football, including the national team. The positive rivalry between Gor and Ingwe can greatly uplift the standards of soccer in Kenya
Our boys had superior ball control and were better ball players. There was no match for Rama, Kenga, Walusimbi, Berry, King David and even Mutiso. I think the Bobbies should maintain the same starting eleven but then introduce the surprise package of the speedy trio of K14, Oboya and Mutiso/Obwoge later on. Shakava has fitted very well in the defense. Perhaps for now Kizito has not attained his best and Eric could still be preferable. We should however remember that the high altitude could have affected Bitam’s game. You never know.
unlike most bloggers here,i will hit the nail on the head and not sugar coat anything!
While i laud the team for the 1 nil win,i must stress that that scoreline might come back to haunt us in the return leg.
Being on home ground and later playing against 10 men,we should have made it count…and we did not!
Most teams are ruthless at home and go for goals to make it easier in the return leg.To be honest,this team needs to improve if we hope to overcome US Bitam in the return leg…and our other opponents who will be very tough to beat!!
l’m proud of the team mazee,kogalo damu,disi muko mbele buda,lakini ……
Until when will we cry that teams, even those staring relegation, play defensively against GM hence our inability to score. That has been our complaint for the last 3 years together with that opponents give 110% when they face GM. Really hoping 4 a difference this year. Entertaing soccer & Goals galore.
haki washemeji mlicheza,the game l watched nd wz ok,the guyz make me proud,, kogalo damu,
congrats boys u have made my day .keep the fight in the second leg. go gor go. one game at atime.
I wish we would have scored three or more goals, but it never happened so we have a huge task in the return leg. I hope we do it same way we did to the re union team last year! Its possible.
@#24 Dan….If ingwe wins, they will most likely play Supersport of South Africa and not Orlando Pirates as stated on your post. Otherwise Gor did OK. I suggest that they put in some practice time working on penalties….. just incase the game is decided that way
INGO for once I can reply you positively.
we need to think on all possibilities.The game was good though and Congrats to Mashemeji as well.
It was a well balanced game and the Best team won no complain so far waiting for the second round
good game though more goals wd av made our work easier.Although we agreed no name calling here ,i wd beg your indulgence on this one.Methinks BW should try partnering Akumu with either Cantona or Dan Top 10 n rest Kizito for a few games,assess the out put of the different combinations then decide his best bet
I concur with you @voltage imagine Owino on the right and Walusimbi on the left back. kupanda nayo? Obwoge should also start alongside ssere. Rama is not at his best yet.