{"id":223,"date":"2011-11-01T01:33:12","date_gmt":"2011-11-01T01:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gormahia.net\/latest\/?p=223"},"modified":"2014-01-22T02:50:04","modified_gmt":"2014-01-22T02:50:04","slug":"now-the-hard-work-starts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gormahia.net\/latest\/news\/now-the-hard-work-starts\/","title":{"rendered":"Now the hard work starts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Austin<\/p>\n

Austin Oduor raises the cup circa 1987<\/span><\/p>\n

Having won the FKL cup, Gor Mahia now has the honour of representing the country in the 2012 Africa Confederations cup. The last time Kogalo participated in a continental event, they were unceremoniously dismissed by APR of Rwanda. This time again, the eyes of the entire country will be trained on the team. As such the team will be hard pressed to emulate the exploits of Sofapaka who made history by becoming the first Kenyan team to eliminate an Egyptian team. They did this while going further than any other Kenyan team has gone in a continental event since Tusker (Then known as Kenya Breweries, reached the finals in 1994) .<\/p>\n

For Kogalo to do well , there will need to be plenty of advanced planning. All aspects of the team will need to be looked into, starting with the technical aspects. As things stand right now, Gor Mahia has scored a paltry 23 goals from 27 matches. A strike rate of well below a goal per game. A stark contrast to KCB who have scored 36 goals.\u00a0It cannot be gainsaid that Kogalo must sharpen its strike force. They will go nowehere by scoring less than a goal per game. Kogalo must seek technical assistance to solve the dearth of goals and the glut of missed chances that causes Kogalo to score such few goals. The club needs a dependable goal getter. As much as Kogalo had a solid team in 1987, they would not have gone far without the scoring exploits of Peter Dawo.<\/p>\n

Gor Mahia will need to score at least two or three goals at each home game because they can fully expect to concede some goals away when they play to hostile crowds. Gone are the days when Gor Mahia had an excellent away record. In those days, the club fans were so demanding that Kogalo players always felt at ease when playing away that they could relax. Today the fans are less demanding and more supportive. This is a good thing in many ways but it also means that Kogalo players have become really used to playing with the 12th man. Kogalo players who have become very used to depending on partisan support will have to learn quickly how to play in front of hostile crowds. Perhaps a few friendlies overseas.<\/p>\n

Secondly, Kogalo must seek to solidify every position even if it meams recruiting from outside. There should be no favouritism. There must be no weaknesses as Kogalo pursues continental glory.<\/p>\n

Finally the club management must plan for this expensive endavor. Planning starts now. Do not wait until 2 weeks before the first game to declare that the club is having difficulty purchasing tickets. Fans can play their part and have proven willing to do so by contributing towards motivating players or settling expenses.<\/p>\n

Nothing less than a deep run into the cup will satisfy the Kogalo faithful who are eager to make amends after the recent disastrous campaigns. Before loosing to APR in 2008, the last time Kogalo played in continental football was in 1996 when they lost to Dyanamos of Harare 1-0 both home and away resulting in massive riots. Fans will be eager to to see a better performance.<\/p>\n

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