CAF CLQ: Gor Mahia suffer defeat to El Merreikh in first-leg away tie

Record Kenya Premier League champions Gor Mahia will have everything to work for in the second-leg of the CAF Champions League first preliminary round after suffering a 1-0 defeat to South Sudanese side El Merreikh Bentiu in Juba.

K'Ogalo, who were on Sunday afternoon making their return to continental football for the first time in two years, stumbled to a Mohamed El Feji goal in the 63rd minute of a clash played at the Juba Stadium.

The result means that Leo Martins Neiva's side will have to win next week's second leg fixture by atleast two goals, when the sides meet at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday 25 August.

Match Report

Having ended their preseason on a bright note, Gor Mahia made the early headlines an hour to kickoff, when it was evident that Austine Odhiambo was named only on the bench.

An understandable argument was that he had resumed training just days before the game, but after losing their top goalscorer Benson Omala, questions over their source of goals lingered.

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New signing Enock Morrison, who scored his first goal for K'Ogalo in the preseason, was the first to threaten just after the half-hour mark, but missed the target from a good shooting position.

At the end of a barren first-half, the visitors, who stood brave infront of a decent travelling support, had picked three yellow cards, that soon became four after Boniface Omondi was booked with 50 minutes gone.

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At the hour mark, Neiva introduced the fit legs of Austine Odhiambo and Shariff Musa, but it was the hosts who jumped into the lead three minutes later.

The scoreline would remain the same despite the introduction of Gedeon Bendeka late on, meaning that El Merreikh carry a slim advantage ahead of a short trip to Nairobi.