Gor Mahia through to top 8 semis
courtesy of capitalfm
NAIROBI, Kenya, April 20 – Talisman Dan Sserunkuma scored his first goal in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Top 8 to lead Gor Mahia to the semi-finals following a 2-1 win over bogey side Thika United in the last quarter-final played at Machakos Kenyatta Stadium on Easter Sunday.
The league champions now joins defending champions Tusker FC, AFC Leopards and debutants KCB in the last four that will be played in a home and away basis from next weekend.
Sserunkuma netted the opener in the 44th minute before Rama Salim extended the lead in the 59th as skipper Dennis Odhiambo scored the consolation for Thika in the 65th from the spot.
K’Ogalo suffered an early blow that forced coach Bobby Williamson, to do two early substitutions after his dependable players were stretched off from action piling more injury woe on the league champions and previous Top 8 winners.
Stand-in- captain and Harambee Stars defender David ‘Calabar’ Owino, was the first to get out of field of play after aggravating an ankle injury that kept him out earlier in the season following a hard tackle by Moses Arita in the 6th for Ugandan Israel Emuge to take his place.
Innocent Mutiso was the next victim 10 minutes later after colliding with Joseph Kuria to pave way for George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo.
“It was a difficult match for us at 2-0 we thought we were comfortable and then we gave away the penalty though it did not look genuine to me but we could have scored more goals. We will work out on our negatives and hope to improve in our upcoming matches.
“The first half was very physical and the referee did not book any one, which left us with a big blow since we lost two crucial players. I’m happy with the partnership of Sserunkuma and Rama that has helped us win the last two matches,” Gor coach Williamson said in a post match interview.
“We played well despite conceding very simple goals through transitions because it was a build up then we lost the ball and lack of concentration cost our second goal. I was forced to bring out my captain Odhiambo, who was injured and it’s also good since he gives other players chance.
“We are now left with the league and the GOtv shield to concentrate on and we hope to give it a good punch,” Thika tactician John Kamau who led his side past Gor last season, rued after the finalist from last year tumbled at the first hurdle.
Williamson kept faith with the squad that won 2-1 last Sunday at Ulinzi, making no change that saw their first choice custodian and captain Jerim Onyango, start on the bench.
Salim could have put his charges ahead when he came close twice in the 14th and 17th but the midfielder wasted Musa Mohammed and Godfrey Walusumbi’s great crosses from the left wing.
Gor’s top scorer Sserunkuma attempted to break the deadlock four minutes later after Walusimbi set him up only to see his efforts hit the side netting.
Teenager Timonah Wanyonyi, pressed Thika defenders twice but luck was not on his side as he blasted wide on both occasions.
The opening goal finally came on the stroke of half time through Cranes forward Sserunkuma who notched his first goal in the competition after his fellow countryman Geoffrey Kizito set him through affording him all the time and space to unleash a cracker that beat keeper Hamuza Muwonge to send the Green Army into raptures.
Thika resumed the better side in the last half with captain Odhiambo giving his side the first shot on target in the 57th that went direct to keeper David Juma before Simon Mbugua’s attempt to halve the scores went futile.
Two minutes later, Salim doubled the lead for K’Ogalo after controlling Mohammed’s cross to send the ball home from close range and net for his third goal of the season.
Kamau charges pulled one back through Odhiambo from the spot after a K‘Ogalo defender handled the ball in the area to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Thika forwards Bernard Meki and Arita struggled to impress on their end but could not manage to break through Gor’s solid defence.
The Brookside sponsored side however, had their chances in the dying minutes with King’atua shooting straight to Juma as Arita’s strike from close range went wide.
K’Ogalo enjoyed the final attempt on goal with two counter attacks but Salim headed wide while Wanyonyi could not reach Sserunkuma cross to see Muwonge come out of his line to rescue in the final minute of action.
Gor joins defending champions Tusker FC, AFC Leopards and KCB in the two legged semis.
Nice entertaining match only ruined by the verbal altercation between Kizito and Wanyonyi that almost turned ugly. This dressing room disharmony must end ASAP
Also good to see Blackberry showing glimpses of his undoubtable quality. With more play time he may recover his form. What a lethal combination that would be with Danny and Rama. Juma should continue between the posts till eternity. Hope nothing nasty happens to him as some have alluded to before. When I saw Owino get taken off for a second time in a month due to injury I became superstitious for once. If it is the armband thn King David shd request that he be relieved of it if tht wl keep him fit.
Glory 2 God for the victory.We’re playing more as a team with purpose and commitment.I noticed the players are united and there’s harmony in the team which lacked before.Thanks Tb for bold decision in squad selection.
A player nursing an injury like Owino should not even be wasted in a top 8 match when we need him for the league. Lakini TB nayo !
@Riaga, I totally disagree with you on Owino. Injury can happen to any player at any time. Thika United came to kick our players and referee was too lenient on Thika players. Doka decisions were one sided and such referees should be relegated to Nationwide league. Opondo, Mbugua, Arita etc were instructed by their coach Kamau to kick our players and Doka was just waving playing on. This is one of the most incompetent referee I have seen this year.
Meanwhile we return all the Glory and Honour to the Almighty God for the victory against Thika in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
I thank God for the victory. I must say the team is playing like champions. They are hungry for victory for sure and victory is indeed coming their way.
@Simplicity its unfortunate that wanyonyi and kizito “crossed” and my guess would be on wanyonyi’s wastefulness infront of goal. In my opinion the lad has been wasteful in most of the games he has started and i could associate it with his mental strength. He knows how to position himself and he has power behind his kick but he is always in a hurry to finish. He needs alot of guidance for him to fluorish because not all strikes require power behind it. If yesterday he had been patient enough he could have scored two goals. How i wish Sserenkuma would be getting such chances but anyway its just a wish. At one point he all alone in the dying minutes then decides to take a cross with his left foot yet he had space to run into. Another a one on one situation which required just chipping the ball but goes for power. There are many such instances. A word of advice to the TB please work with the lad since if he gets his act together we would have so many options upfront and we will be singing all the way to Tumbuktu.
Blackberry is picking up too and am happy about that. I think he needs to assert himself more and i believe he has the pedigree to do that. Me thinks Kizito and Eric pairing has turned around our game too. You can actually see Eric is getting involved more with the ball upfront while Kizito is fighting for all the balls in the middle and just infront of the back four. No wonder Eric won man-of-the-match award.
Musa has really improved since he came back from trials. His deliveries have improved too. He has the physique, power and age behind him to be a good player. If i were him i would be working so hard to improve on my crosses and the team will be the better.
Juma Juma Juma how am glad we have this keeper despitd some people critizing him here. He was super to say the least. He just does not kick the ball upfront but starts the ball from behind most of the time and when he does its calculated. This is what we lacked in a long time and i pray that God gives him grace to continue playing well for us.
Finally i cant wait to twitt to the two AFC fans on Simba soccer Toskin and Salim that there prediction did not come true except the one for Kanyangondas.
All the glory to God and my prayer is that He continues sustaining the team spirit within the club.
I concur with you brother mwakio,mr nasur doka should be relegated to nationwide league,that perfomance is below par,i think he didn’t want mighty kogalo to win.Let kogalo knows that it many enemies in the name of refs.kudos GOR MAHIA FC.
On differences between Baba and Timona, these are common differences when a player instead of crossing the balls to team members decides to shoot wide and reckless. This was the case with Timona yesterday. The coach need to sit down with him to show him playing as a team. I also find this difference when he played for Harambee Stars under 20 where he was passing and making crosses that had enabled the under 20 to score.
Timonah is goal sick period. Amongst our predeting strikers he is the only one not on score board thus he needs a mentality therapy by both Tb and senior member of the squad. Game review watch with Tb is the best. He is young and should respect old experience and aged players. Otherwise it was a good game bisha ni bishe kwako which kept me at the edge of my sofa. Glory to God for the win
guys even if we r celebrating our team is playng in 1 uniform who realised?wht cn we do?
Timona shld be gvn time 2 rest so tht he cn respect snr players .Blckberry shld get play time
thrö time Timona has been wastful blackberi shld take ths chance he cn imprv the no of our goals per game
@jakorando what is wrong with that uniform….? with me i dont see anything wrong with that uniform since we have only played with it three times so don’t try to bring some topics for discussion which are irrelevant.With me so long as the players are happy and are being paid all their salaries,allowances and bonuses i will also be happy because those are the people who are making us happy but not uniform.please you should know that teams like kbc,afc leopards ,top fry, ulinzi are having sponsors and can exchange the uniform the way they like but they are still struggling in the pitch so we value performance and the happiness and unity among players than the uniform you are talking about.To the issue of wanyonyi and kizito there is nothing wrong there it is normal all over the world,it is just that kizito is no nonsense guy and will not hide it when you are doing a wrong thing, which is good.The three ugandan guys kizito,walusimbi,sserenkuma ,bloggers these guys knows what brought them in kenya they are really serious with what they are doing.I love the goal that sserenkuma scored ….oooooooh what a goal the guy is a striker guys ,he turned and never even looked at where the goal is and the ball was in the net.To the person who may have the number of this guy i want it so that i give him something,otherwise the team is playing well.To guys like jakorando let us not at times try and divert attention with some small small things while there is unity in the team otherwise let us meet on Wednesday at tok komwanda.
Once again Hongerani sana wana Kogallo. I am not worried about nothing. Team iko sawa.
For God and my beloved club – Kogallo
Now that we’ve beaten thika utd by 2-1, If their is a k’ogalo fan who frequents this site & is also close to Kamau, can u ask him if his tactics which according to him is better than Bobbys is playing hard & causing injury to his opponents. He is so stupid & how i wish some day he can be tought a lesson. I’m also glad that Blackberry is gaining form & if he will hit the form that we expect from him then we will continue to rule TPL & other tournaments that will come our way.kudos boys 4 a gud performance.
@ jakorando seemingly you are becoming so petty what you have to know is that the role wanyonyi is playing in gor mahia there is no player who can do it currently in gor.The guy is always where the ball is ,running everywhere in the pitch so don’t dismiss him he is just like Dube the guy is a play maker and still don’t have experience of scoring goals so he should just be advised to create goals for other players but the blackberry guy you are talking about is still not fit like wanyonyi.A gain omollo is right what is wrong with our uniforms…? jakorando this is kenya and not EPL the uniform has been used only three time and the guys like Emuge has only used it ones so don’t try to raise attention where there is nothing wrong,we don’t want disruption with nonsense right know let us avoid politics at times.
This appears to be the winning team that BW has been looking for. we all witnessed seriousness and commitment from the players the way they played yesterday .On Timonah I think the coach has got soft spot in him since the guy has been wasteful in our last two matches and I doubt if he can bench Berry or Kenga.
Kizito is a no nonsense guy and that’s why when jerry conceded easy goal against KCB they argued same to Timonah hopes each player will take opportunity given to them seriously.
omondaye u r smart thanks.oluoch dnt be stupid at mi postings .jack keep up in tht confusion
Nobody talks of Eric Ochieng.He is the reason the team has looks stable in the last 3 games.Akumu is going to struggle to get back to that mid.
@jakorando i like your contributions,but don’t you think it wld be better for you to combine this mini segments that you keep on posting into one detailed comprehencive post?.That makes it easier for the bloggers to analyse your postings.This will also save you time since you won’t hv 2 kip on posting. Hop u take it kindly since it’s jst a polite advice.
as we speak today Timmona work rate at GOR at the moment no one can match these guy,anless we r seeing it differently he might not be good at scoring but the guy is just good,he is still young he will learn as time goes lets not start another argument on another player,blackberry used to be good i agree but at the moment u cant compare Timmona n Blackberry
Thanks Kogallo for showing Kamau how a tactical coach does it. Keep it up guys and go ahead and make history by winning everything this season since we’ve found the best combination.
On tactics Kamau got it so wrong and Bobby got it right. By using high balls against a team that boasts of tall defenders in Shakava and Emuge for sure Kamau failed miserably. Bobby got it right attack is the best defence. We only conceded when we stopped attacking and thought we had wrapped up the game.
A good game and sweet victory.Comrades I share in your joy.How I wish to watch games like this every weekend.Rama,Danny and Berry combination will be deadly.@Simeon Simplicity,I always admire and truly love to read your posts.Today,however,allow me differ with you on Owino’s injury.In your post you feared that the injury may have resulted due to captain’s armband rivalry.You didn’t mention any name but I don’t need to hire a swami to help me look into this crystal ball.You were referring to Jerry.Granted,Jerry’s form has dipped this term and does need time and space to get his act together again.We aren’t helping him when we pour vitriol on him in public.He is still the captain of our ship-Gor Mahia.There are days that his blunders truly appalled me and have tempted to lambast.But when I remember great performances and sacrifices he has posted in the past,I pause and regain my senses.I realize he is a boy(all footballers are boys no matter how old they are)who needs my support and help when he is down.We are a family.We are a team.The joy of being a team member is that when you fall your teammate(s)will lift you up.That’s not how we have treated Jerry.Suddenly he has become a pariah guy.Unwanted and, to say the least,an outcast who is responsible for all the ills affecting Gor.I watched the game and saw the tackle that will keep Jashirati on the sidelines’ for weeks.I honestly don’t see how Jagoal was involved.It was Arita.We need to know that our players read this site.With this kind of hypothses,we are creating more disunity in the dressing than the spat you saw between Kizito and Jehovah.Comrades,we have pillaged and gang raped Jagoal enough.Give him a break.He has friends and family who read this site and I know he does need some self respect.With all due respect give this boy a break.Period.
Kogalo hoyee!afterall the only goal thika scored was own goal since odhiambo is nyakwar kogalo n membership is by birth or should i tell you ni Obama be jakogalo yawa?
@Baba Travis, you are very right. How I wish all of us on this blog would be thinking like u. Let us all give Jagoal a break from this baseless accussation of juok. If indeed black magic works then Kenyans clubs would be ruling soccer in Africa if not the world.
For God and my beloved club – Kogallo.
@Baba Travis well said. Let’s respect all our players and leave our differences from the village or mtaa out of this site. What happened between Kizito and Jerry and Wanyonyi are very normal things in football. It’s all about the desire to win. Thank God we are winning and even BW critics are now silent. Let’s talk to our fellow fans not to hurl objects to the field even when incensed by dome decisions. O saw it yesterday after a very long time in gor games. On Wanyonyi we cannot sub him withh BB since they play different roles. He has a free role to rove but BB is an offensive player. Despite being wasteful his work rate is good.
Let’s continue helping the team financially through the accounts we were given
It is unfortunate that some of our fans thrive in hate and divisiveness.why forget the gud that jerry has done.wabed appreciative and civilised omera.
jerry is one of the reasons we have performed well in the past 3 seasons and i will never vilify him.all players have their ups and downs…what he needs now is support to get back to his best.those fans criticizing and calling him names are being hypocritical!!!!
Good game and result.
Why are we discussing a player who was on the bench? To the supporters and opponents, let the matter rest.
Before we villify Jakorando on the uniform issue, we need to realise that he has a point. Yesterday, the jerseys of Ochieng and Shakava didn’t have our badge. Is that a simple matter?
I never witnessed that even in the days of the ‘Great Depression’
@ villager keep up tht brain we need 2 see things early
happy Kamau mouth is soon shuting