Gor is coming, make way! K'Ogao just need to beat Sofapaka and league title will be theirs to take

Gor Mahia Baba Kizito(L) battle for the ball against Roy Syamba(C) and Vincent Okelo of Mathare United during their KPL match at City Stadium, Nairobi on Sunday 19/10/14.PHOTO.BONIFACE OKENDO

It is now almost impossible to stop Gor Mahia from retaining the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) title after they edged out Mathare United 1-0 at the City Stadium on Sunday.
With three matches to the end of the season, Gor Mahia will win the title if they beat their closest rivals Sofapaka this Sunday in a do or die match at the Machakos Municipal Stadium.
Gor Mahia lead the log with 54 points and another win will push them to 57 points and that means the furthest Sofapaka can go is 56 points by the end of the season incase they don’t stop the KPL champions on Sunday.
Sofapaka are therefore the only team that can delay Gor Mahia from being crowned champions and this raises the stakes in Sunday’s match and also calls for the need to beef up security in Machakos to contain the high number of fans expected to turn up.
Gor Mahia coach Frank Nuttall summed up their expectations after Sunday’s victory:”We played well to stop United and are looking forward to a similar performance against Sofapaka. The boys were amazing and we hope to maintain the same spirit in our coming fixture.”
One man who will be under pressure to perform on Sunday is Dan Sserunkuna who is currently the league’s top scorer with 14 goals. He failed to score against Mathare United on Sunday allowing Ulinzi forward Steven Waruru to get closer to him in the battle for the golden boot.
He goes into Sunday’s match expecting to continue scoring goals as he aims to stretch his tally at the top.
Apart from Sserunkuma, Gor Mahia will also be happy that George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo has become another great option upfront.
With two goals in two matches, the former KPL player of the year is fast redeeming himself and should be surprised if he does not get a call up to the national team Harambee Stars for the regional championships.
Coach Nuttal was full of praise for the player. “Odhiambo was in fine form today and I am happy for him especially after he scored his second goal in a row. It gives him plenty of confidence and we need that at this time.”
Despite going down United coach Stanley Okumbi has not given up on a top eight finish following a good run in the season and blames lack of concentration in front of goal for his the loss.
Despite creating lots of chances especially in the second half, the team could turn them into goals and Okumbi admitted it cost them at least a draw.
“We played very well this afternoon and especially in the second half of the game but we were blunt upfront,” he said.