{"id":4018,"date":"2014-02-26T03:30:46","date_gmt":"2014-02-26T03:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gormahia.net\/latest\/?p=4018"},"modified":"2014-02-26T03:34:19","modified_gmt":"2014-02-26T03:34:19","slug":"williamson-discusses-game-plan-vs-esperance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gormahia.net\/latest\/news\/williamson-discusses-game-plan-vs-esperance\/","title":{"rendered":"Williamson discusses game plan vs Esperance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Courtesy of the Standard<\/div>\n
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Gor Mahia coach Bobby Williamson has said the team will avoid conceding at home when they take on Tunisian giants Esperance in Saturday\u2019s Champions League first round match at Nyayo National Stadium. The team resumed training yesterday at Nairobi City Stadium after successfully picking three league points at the expense of Mathare United in a 1-0 win in Machakos. Speaking after taking his team through the morning session, Williamson said: \u201cIt is a big match for us and the strategy will be to avoid conceding at home so that the return match is easier to navigate.<\/div>\n
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Kenyan champions to avoid conceding goal in first leg . Gor Mahia coach Bobby Williamson has said the team will avoid conceding at home when they take on Tunisian giants Esperance in Saturday\u2019s Champions League first round match at Nyayo National Stadium. The team resumed training yesterday at Nairobi City Stadium after successfully picking three league points at the expense of Mathare United in a 1-0 win in Machakos.<\/div>\n
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Speaking after taking his team through the morning session, Williamson said: \u201cIt is a big match for us and the strategy will be to avoid conceding at home so that the return match is easier to navigate. \u201cIt is always costly to concede at home because then you have to score more goals away, which is more difficult. Gor Mahia have been boosted by the return of Patrick Oboya and Kevin Omondi from injury, something the coach says has increased competition for places. \u201cAs a coach, it is delightful to see your players competing for starting places in the team and this is the situation we find ourselves in ahead of the match.<\/div>\n
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Technical options<\/h3>\n
\u201cOboya and Omondi are fully fit and their presence will give me and my technical bench options as we sit down to pick the starting line-up,\u201d he added. The two players did not feature in the preliminary match where Gor Mahia eliminated US Bittam of Gabon. Oboya played some part in Sunday\u2019s 1-0 win against Mathare United in the KPL match at Machakos Municipal Stadium. Gor Mahia captain and goalkeeper Jerim Onyango has in the meantime said the team is highly motivated to take on their opponents, especially after they bundled out their West African opponents in the preliminary round.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0\u201cThe win over Bittam has given a lot of confidence and now we believe in ourselves. We want to tell our fans to come up in large numbers and give us the home advantage. Their presence will make a big difference,\u201d he said. Historical memories Onyango said majority of the players look forward to featuring in the match, which has historical memories for most of them. \u201cI was only three years old when Gor Mahia beat Esperance to win the Mandela Cup in 1987.<\/div>\n
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A good number of players in the team were either too young or were not even born. \u201cThis has given many of us the motivation to want to repeat that 1987 feat. A lot has changed since then, but we believe it can be done again,\u201d added the goalkeeper. Onyango is, however, doubtful for Saturday\u2019s match after picking an injury during the league match at Machakos Stadium and did not train with the rest of the squad.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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