Gor waste chance to take lead: Thika milk a point from champions in city grudge match

BY JOSEPH NGURE

Gor Mahia and Thika United shared the spoils after failing to score in this high-octane Kenyan Premier League (KPL) match at City Stadium, Nairobi, on Wednesday.

But Gor have themselves to blame for failing to pick maximum points in a game they struggled in and Ugandan ‘hitman’ Dan Sserunkuma even wasted a penalty early in the second half.

Coming into this match on the back of a 2-0 win over Western Stima on Sunday, Gor dominated the early proceedings of the match watched by a fair crowd.

Patrick Oboya’s goal-bound cross in the fifth minute hit  Anthony Kizito on the head but the danger was cleared. Six minutes later, as Gor upped the pressure, they were rewarded with the first corner of the match.

Then an altercation between centre referee Tabitha Wamboi and Godfrey Kizito saw the Gor player get a caution. The same also happened to Thika United’s John Kuria, who was penalised for pulling down David Owino.

Thika United were never really in the game in the early minutes and found themselves under extreme pressure as Gor went on the offensive for an opener.

In the 19th minute, Gor were awarded  their third corner of the first half. Three minutes later, they got another corner, but once again squandered delivery.

The best chance for Gor Mahia came in the 26th minute when a well taken free kick by Teddy Akumu was headed out by of danger zone by Simon Mbugua.

Desperate to put his side ahead, Dan Sserunkuma found himself inside the Thika United box and instead of getting a foul, he was cautioned for diving.

time wasting

Thika waited until the half hour mark before making their first attempt at goal, but it ended up in a fruitless corner and both teams remained goalless at the break.

Gor again came back strongly in the second half and the pressure exerted on their opponents’ defence saw Timothy Ludda handle inside his box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.

 But Sserunkuma wasted an opportunity to put his side ahead.

After the match, Gor coach Bobby Williamson accused Thika United players of wasting time and complained that the referee was not strict enough to deal with the behaviour.

“We were surprise that the referee added only three minutes extra time despite our opponents wasting a lot of time,” said Williamson.

His Thika United counterpart denied the allegation and insisted that his side deserved to get something from the match.

“Defensively, we were impressive but I am disappointed that on the transition we did not utilise our chances which should have given us at least a goal,” he said.