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The Nairobian

GOR NEXT FOR SONY: Sugar millers look to hit back after thrashing by Leopards

Football

By Gilbert Wandera | May 06, 2015

**AFC Leopards' Edwin Wafula slides Sony Sugar FC's Naftali Okombo, left, during KPL Match at Nyayo National Stadium on Friday, May 2nd, 2015. PHOTO/ JONAH ONYANGO.**

How do you motivate a team that has just lost a match by five goals?

This is the big question facing SoNy Sugar coach Zedekiah Otieno as his side host Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions Gor Mahia at Awendo Green Stadium today.

SoNy Sugar fell 5-1 to AFC Leopards last Friday at the Nyayo National Stadium and going into today’s, desperately need to win not only to regain their confidence, but also prove they still have a lot to offer.

Generally, SoNy Sugar have had a good season after their top-eight finish last year and were well on the way to another impressive performance until Friday’s big loss.

How SoNy bounce back today will be very important for their future performance and one thing that could work to their advantage is the fact that their coach has handled the KPL champions before.

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It may have been four years back but some of the players who played under Otieno are still in Gor Mahia's starting line-up and furthermore the SoNy Sugar tactician also understands the culture of the KPL champions, which he might use to his advantage.

One player who will make a difference for SoNy is forward Samuel Onyango.

Despite his side going down by such a huge margin against Leopards, Onyango was very impressive and he kept the opposition’s back line fully engaged with some great runs upfront.

Aware of his potential, Gor Mahia nearly signed Onyango one year ago and today they might regret not having signed the player.

Gor Mahia are clear favourites going into this match. Unbeaten since the season started, the KPL champions look every inch ready to defend the title.

However, playing away today will be a good test for the club since majority of their past victories have been in Nairobi where their fans do not have a problem turning up in large numbers.

Playing at Awendo Stadium without their loud fans will bring out the true character of the club and whether they can withstand the pressure of an away game.

In terms of personel, they have everything going for them.

Their lead striker Michael Olunga is in great shape and should find no problems scoring today.

In midfield, Ali Abondo who leads in the scorers chart should have rested enough after being substituted against Ulinzi Stars on Saturday to be able to torment SoNy.

Generally, a match between SoNy and Gor has always been underlined by tensions and deep seated emotions.

One hopes that adequate security has been put in place ahead of today’s encounter.