CAF CC: Tactics Otôho d'Oyo used to frustrate Gor Mahia

Record Kenya champions Gor Mahia suffered sordid conditions in Congo (Brazzaville) as they went down 1-0 to Otôho d'Oyo in the CAF Confederation Cup Playoffs.

CAF CC: Gor beaten in Brazzaville

According to a source close to the club, Jules Ulimwengu and John Ochieng were barred from featuring in the clash after their Covid-19 results failed to return on time.

The club’s frustrations were felt from the moment they landed at the Maya Maya International Airport in Brazzaville as they were subjected to lengthy Covid-19 procedures with language barrier also proving a stumbling block.

Speaking to Mozzart Sport, the source revealed that their Covid-19 certificates obtained in Kenya was due to expire after 72 hours but they were forced to take another test on arrival which took close to two hours.

“There was a language barrier at the airport, we had no one to explain to us the procedures and they wanted us to take another Covid-19 test from their country despite our Covid-19 test being valid for 72 hours,”

“The tests took more than one hour thirty minutes and we arrived in the airport with some jet lag after a long flight from Nairobi,” explained the source.

K’Ogalo went down to a lone goal from Roland Okouri, three minutes after the hour mark leaving them with all to do in the second leg as they need a minimum of two goals without a reply to proceed within 90 minutes.

With only 15 players in the squad, Gor Mahia failed to make any substitutions in the game after Philemon Otieno and Sydney Ochieng were nursing injuries leaving goalkeer Caleb Omondi the only fit player on the bench.

“Two players failed to get their Covid-19 certificates, which left us with very few options on the bench to make changes,”

“The referee was also from a French-speaking country which made communication a challenge. Philemon had an ankle injury while Sydney was still suffering from his hamstring injury which means Caleb was our only option,” added the source.

Club captain Harun Shakava suffered an injury in the dying minutes of the game but was forced to complete the game in the high humidity of the Alphonse Massamba-Débat Stadium.