Moment of truth for Gor Mahia

Gor Mahia players George Odhiambo, Karim Nizigiyimana and Cercidy Okeyo train at Everton's Finch Farm Training Complex on November 4, 2018. [Courtesy]

Kenyan champions K’ogalo face-off with Everton in historic SportPesa Trophy match at Goodison Park tonight.

Finally, the day that Gor Mahia players and their supporters have been waiting for has arrived.

It will be a moment to cherish and savour when the record Kenyan champions take to the Goodison Park tonight (10 pm) to collide with English Premier League side Everton in the SportPesa Trophy match.

Though stakes are high, whatever the outcome in the match which has caused a buzz in Merseyside, it still presents a perfect opportunity for Dylan Kerr’s men to market themselves in England and Europe at large.

This group of players will also go into the books of history as being part of the first ever African club to play a Premier League team on English soil.

The 17-time Kenyan champions had a feel of the pitch (Goodison Park) last evening without their talisman Jacques Tuyisenge, whose trip to United Kingdom hit a snag due to a visa hitch.

While Kerr is looking forward to fielding a strong squad tonight, his Toffees’ counterpart Marco Silva is set to make several changes to the team that beat Brighton 3-0 on Saturday in a bid to keep his players fresh for this weekend’s Premier League tie against Chelsea.

With Kurt Zouma ineligible to face his parent club at the Stamford Bridge, Colombian defender Yerry Mina, who made his debut as a late substitute against Brighton is likely to partner Michael Keane at the heart of Everton defence.  While right back Séamus Coleman is expected to wear the arm-band in the absence of the injured Phil Jagielka.

But having featured in their 2-1 win over Gor Mahia in the inaugural tournament in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania last year, Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg expects another difficult match.

“It wasn’t an easy game when we went to Tanzania last year. They (Gor Mahia) have been out of competition for over a month or so, and they have been on a holiday so far. Hopefully they had a lot of parties, but generally, it is going to be a difficult game like last year,” said Stekelenburg.

“For us, it is good to have some minutes but though everybody wants to win a trophy, we don’t have to play a lot.

“We are in the middle of two Premier League fixtures and it looks like time is not great for us because we have the biggest busy period of the year coming up now.  But the game is on Tuesday and we play Chelsea on Sunday, so we still have some days to recover.”

And for Kenyan international defender Joash Onyango, this is a match that they should play to enjoy but not try so hard to impress.

“Of course, this is a dream come true for the whole team.  I think it will be a tough game for both teams. But we just need to be at our best and focus on playing our game,” said Onyango.

Midfield wizard Francis Kahata has already been tipped by Everton’s legend Yakubu Ayegbeni as the man to watch in Gor Mahia’s side tonight.