Gor Mahia end Kenya Police's unbeaten start to seize league lead

Gor Mahia asserted their authority in this season’s FKF Premier League after sweeping aside title holders Kenya Police 2-0 at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday, 9 November.

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K’Ogalo, in an apparent show of might, made a mockery of Kenya Police’s unbeaten status heading to the afternoon game, scoring twice in the first half to coast comfortably to a win that took them to the top of the standings after seven matches.

The record Premier League champions laughed straight at Police’s unbreakable defense when they scored inside 120 seconds through on-form Felix Oluoch, before Shariff Musa added a quick second to put the tie to bed.

The win - Gor Mahia’s fifth of the season - took them above previous leaders Kakamega Homeboyz with 16 points, while Police, who suffered their first defeat under new coach Dusan Stojanovic, dropped to 11th with eight points from five matches.

Match Report

A clash of two giants was the term used to best describe the match-up between the last two Premier League champions, who also came in with the meanest defenses.

It took Gor Mahia six matches to finally concede from open play last weekend, whilst Kenya Police, after four games, were yet to concede.

The latter was put to question almost immediately after kickoff, when Gor Mahia’s fearless press forced a turnover from Police, leading to the sequence of one-touch passes that bore the opener.

Austin Odhiambo, upon receiving the errant pass from Tobias Otieno, glided past a man, played towards Ebenezer Adukwaw, who in-turn found a free Oluoch to score past Job Ochieng.

A defense so praised before kickoff had been undone within seconds, and their vulnerability was on show the entire afternoon.

Enock Morisson could have doubled the lead after six minutes when he ran to Odhiambo’s freekick, only to head over at the backpost.

Adukwaw, in another break, slashed wide, before Musa finally let the net ripple, when he ran to an expert long-ball from center back Sylvester Owino.

Gor Mahia were having a field day, and it was only at the moment Edward Omondi got stretchered off with a painful knee injury, when the scenes did not look jubilant for the green and white.

The returning Marvin Nabwire, after 45 minutes, whacked a Gor corner agonizingly over his bar for another corner, a show of the increasing pressure his team was under.

Stojanovic made two changes to chase the game in the second half, but for all their effort and territorial dominance, failed to properly test Bryne Omondi in goal, Gor Mahia resulting to a few scraps and dirty defending.

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Alpha Onyango had the chance to put the icing on the cake for Gor, only for his buccaneering run to end in his left-footed effort going wide.

The bench players could afford to laugh at that, testament to how the narrative had shifted.

Gor Mahia on a roll.

Late equalizers galore

Elsewhere in other games, last minute equalizers from Bandari and APS Bomet saw both KCB and Mathare fail to bounce back to winning ways on a dramatic afternoon in the league.

KCB, who came into the weekend on the back of three consecutive defeats, looked home and dry when Richard Omondi headed in the opener after 65 minutes, only for the hosts to level in the fifth minute of added time through Abdallah Hassan.

A similar plot was played out at a muddy Kericho Green Stadium, when Mathare United took a 56th minute lead through on-form Elli Asieche, but for Hansel Ochieng to equalize for APS Bomet from the spot in stoppage time.

The results meant all of Mathare United, KCB and Bandari remained in the bottom half in position 13, 14 and 15 respectively, while APS Bomet remained rooted in last place with a paltry five points.

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