GOR SCRAPE THROUGH: 'Blackberry' injury-time strike steers K'Ogalo into next round of CAF Champions League

Mathare United FC's David Mwangi, left facing challenge from George Odhiambo of Gor Mahia during their grueling KPL match at City Stadium on Saturday, February 21st, 2015. PHOTO/JONAH ONYANGO

George 'Blackberry' Odhiambo scored in injury time as Gor Mahia edged out CNaPS of Madagascar 4-3 on aggregate in Sunday's CAF Champions League away match.

The home side looked set to beat Gor Mahia after taking a 3-1 lead until the 90th minute but a little loss of concentration allowed Odhiambo to net the second goal after Ali Abondo had scored the first one in the first half, as the Kenyan champions lost 3-2 but still advanced on the away goal rule.

Gor Mahia were helped by the fact that they had won the first leg 1-0 in Nairobi two weeks ago and will now feature in the first round of Africa's lucrative competition for the second year in a row.

It was a sigh of relief for local fans considering that Sofapaka, the other Kenyan representatives in continental football, were out-scored 4-2 by FC Platinum in the preliminary match of the Confederations Cup.

Sofapaka lost 2-1 to the Zimbabweans in both legs of the match.

Elsewhere, former international striker Boniface Ambani says Kenyan clubs will continue to struggle in continental competitions unless the calendar is changed.

"I am not surprised that Sofapaka were edged out and that Gor Mahia struggled to make it through. I predicted this would happen. When you look at our calendar, it sets us up for failure because by the time we start competing at this level, our opponents are already active because their leagues follow the European calendar from August to May," he said.

"Normally, the Kenyan Premier League concludes in November after which the players take a long holiday only to regroup in January when the competitions start," he added. "You find that by the time the competition is one, our teams are still in pre-season mode, which takes a toll on our players. Unless we change the calendar, our teams will continue to bow out in the early stages of the competition."

He said Tanzania have adopted the Fifa calendar and the results say it all.

"It is not that Tanzanian clubs are more talented than us but that they have adopted the European calendar and their clubs continue to do well. We must do likewise," concluded Ambani.