Oliech finally finds his scoring boots

Gor Mahia's Dennis Oliech controls the ball during a SPL match against Posta Rangers [Courtesy]

Gor Mahia squeezed a narrow 2-1 win over Posta Rangers in a SportPesa Premier League (SPL) match at Kasarani yesterday.

Dennis Oliech scored his first goal since making a return to the local league after a 15-year hiatus with a simple finish before half time.

The former Kenyan international wore the captain’s arm band during the fixture with regular captain Haroun Shakava missing in action.

Posta Rangers goalkeeper Levis Opiyo was rushed to hospital for a head scan after he appeared to have been knocked down leading to Gor Mahia’s first goal.

The Gor Mahia starting eleven [Courtesy]

Opiyo fell down from what looked like a goal mouth melee as Bernard Momanyi netted the opener in the 30th minute.

The match was stopped for almost six minutes as the Ranger’s custodian sought treatment before continuing with play.

But he didn’t last long and when he fell down for the second time, he was rushed to hospital by the standby ambulance.

According to the club, he is set to undergo a head scan to determine the extent of the injury.

Rangers were forced to make an early substitution resting the injured Opiyo for Eliud Emase.

Rangers coach John Kamau was not happy with the performance of the match referee.

“I am happy with my boys. They did very well considering that we are building something. However, I don’t want to focus so much on the performance of the referee. We should have had at least a penalty in the match,” he said.

Gor Mahia started strongly and should have gone ahead early. Shafique Batambuze’s goal-bound shot was headed out by Joseph Mbugi on the line.

Then in the sixth minute, Francis Kahata, who was once again outstanding in the Gor Mahia midfield, hit the woodwork with a well-taken cross.

The first chance for Rangers came in the 11th minute. It came off Dan Kago’s cross to  Joseph Mbugi, who headed wide.

Stunning goal

After that, Rangers settled quickly and were rewarded in the 40th minute when Francis Nambute beat Fredrick Odhiambo in goal with a back heel.

The goal stunned Gor Mahia and coach Hassan Oktay quickly made his first substitution bring in Joakim Oduor for Pascal Ogweno, who looked slow at the back.

Gor Mahia regained the lead in the 43rd minute with Oliech scoring his first goal since returning to the Kenyan Premier League.

Oliech celebrates scoring his first goal for Gor Mahia this season [Courtesy]

Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay was happy with the result and said it marks the return of his side to winning ways.

“We are getting better with every game and the old Gor Mahia is coming back,” said the Gor Mahia coach.