Gor Mahia return to Kisumu to take on Stima
On Sunday, Gor Mahia will return to the stadium that was the location of glorious scenes and celebration when Gor Mahia won the 2014 Kenya premier league on the very last day of the season.
Kisumu is a town that has produced memorable experiences for Gor Mahia’s foreign coaches. Legendary Arsenal winger and former Gor Mahia coach Len Julians once marveled at the passion of Kisumu based fans and wished the club could channel that passion towards boosting the financial fortunes of the club. Coach Frank Nuttall was also amazed at the level of support the club received when they played Ushuru there last season.
This time Gor Mahia will be returning to take on Western Stima, a team that is usually based in Kakamega but is unable to play there because Bukhungu stadium is getting a facelift.
Gor Mahia will be hoping to pick up where they left off against SoNy Sugar on Wednesday. On Thursday they beat Uriri combined 5-1. Goals came from Charles Bruno (penalty), Jerry Santo, Ronald omino, George Odhiambo and Simon Pierre. That match was an opportunity to give several players opportunities to play.
On Sunday, Gor Mahia will be without the duo of Mike Olunga and Haron Shakava who have been called up the national U23 team that plays Botswana. The good news however is the Dirkir Glay has returned to training and will provide additional options in defence. Olunga will be harder to replace as he has played a pivotal role of late. When he is not scoring, he is worrying defenders and goalkeepers, giving them nervous moments that often cause them to make errors that result in goals. This element of Olunga is very reminiscent to the legendary Peter Dawo.
Still Olunga’s absence offers an opportunity to the likes of Odhiambo “Blackberry” who has shown moments of brilliance when he comes into the game as well as Timothy Otieno who logged 90 minutes against SoNy. Both are eager to regain their place in the starting line-up and will be motivated to impress coach Nuttall.
But Stima are no pushovers. They are currently fourth on the table and have impressive wins over Sofapaka and SoNy Sugar under their belt. They will be missing 3 players: George Wesa, Ali Bai (both illness malaria) and Kevin Okoth (ankle), did not train this week and Omino has ruled out chances of them playing a part in the Sunday game.
“They are all out .Okoth, missed the last two games and is still not available while the rest (Wesa and Bai) are still ailing,” said coach Henry Omino whose son is a Gor Mahia player Ronald Omino.
Striker Fredrick Shimonyo, who has so far scored four of Stima’s 11 goals, will be the man Gor Mahia must watch. Omino is a good coach and will have studied Gor Mahia.
Gor Mahia fans for their part are grateful to the players for having put aside the incompetence of the office and put on some good displays
Am confident we are going to switch off stima in Kisumu. Good luck!
is it nowadays a policy in this team that players shy off from the media before their matches??? they seem to have agreed to talk less………
@ADMIN please be getting your facts right from the technical bench; For your information let it be known that Olunga and Shakava will be flown to Kisumu on Sunday morning at the cost FKF. That is why the match was not postponed to TUESDAY like the ULINZI, MATHARE and BANDARI who have bulk of players in the under 23 national team.
Kesho tuko hapo chon time. No thuggery, amani pekee. Please people from nairobi put on your best of aehaviours. isikuwe kama last year
If Olunga plays 90 minutes against Botswana, it does not make sense to fly him to Kisumu then make him play another 90 minutes. At the very least you risk poor performance due to fatigue. But even worse, You risk injuries.
Let Olunga rest. It is going to be a long season. We dont want him injured.
People of Kisumu, please treat the players nicely after the match.
Bring them back by air,
pay their may salaries
buy them lots of fish
all the best.
And finish the Bread every where in Kisumo, jakanyanam.