PRAYING FOR DIVINE ACTION: Gor Mahia hope to be at their best against Ushuru in Top 8 tie
Football
By
Gilbert Wandera
| May 01, 2016
A resurgent Gor Mahia side hopes to make it to the semi-finals of the Kenyan Premier League Top 8 tournament when they play Ushuru tomorrow at Nyayo Stadium.
From a bad run of results, Gor Mahia have managed to pick two successive wins and have shown they have what it takes to defend the title.
With things getting difficult for Gor Mahia in the KPL front, lifting the Top-8 title so far remains their best bet this season.
To win the Top-8 title, a team needs to play just three matches and this is something Gor Mahia know they can achieve.
It is less than three weeks since Gor Mahia and Ushuru played in a KPL tie that ended in a barren draw at Nyayo Stadium and coach Jose Marcelo has expressed his desire to pick a win this time around.
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“It is a good opportunity for us to win the match now that we have been given a second chance. They gave us a lot of opposition in the league, but hopefully we can eliminate them," said Marcelo during the draw of the Sh1 million tournament.
How Ushuru performs will depend on how well they are able to contain the pressure of Gor Mahia fans. The taxmen are well experienced to play under such environment, though they have been accused of negative play, always playing for a draw.
But it being a knock-out tournament, Ushuru coach Ken Kenyatta has no option, but to urge his players to go all flat out.
Elsewhere, despite qualifying for every edition of the Kenyan Premier League Top-8, Sofapaka, who play Muhoroni Youth today, have never made it past the first round and it does not look like it will change this time.
The 2009 KPL champions have never failed to qualify for the tournament and are making their sixth appearance.
Trouble is that Sofapaka are having their worst season that has seen them win just two of their last 10 matches.
For Muhoroni Youth, this is their second appearance in the tourney after making their debut last season. They lost to Gor Mahia in their first match and have returned to try their luck.
In other matches, Ulinzi Stars will play AFC Leopards, while Tusker take on Bandari at Nyayo Stadium.