Stuttering Gor Mahia renew City Stars rivalry after six years

Gor Mahia faces Nairobi City Stars for the first time this Sunday since 2016 in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) looking to exert their dominance.

K’Ogalo holds an impressive record against Simba wa Nairobi, winning 10 of their last 16 league games and have only suffered defeat twice in the fixture.

Manuel Vaz Pinto’s side have endured a torrid season that has seen them lose six of the 14 encounters this campaign, leaving them in an unfamiliar eighth place.

City Stars on the other hand have steadied their ship after struggling to adapt to life back in the top flight following their promotion from the National Super League (NSL).

Pinto was delighted to see the league resume after almost two months of suspension owing to the Covid-19 spike in the country.

"Our last game was about 55 days ago. We are happy to be back but we look at the physical integrity of players with apprehension. We go in search of dynamics and with a lot of commitment,” said the Portuguese.

Gor Mahia has been rocked by reports of players dowing their tools during the suspension of sports with fitness being a huge concern for the club owing to the short time to prepare for the league resumption. 

City Stars last win against Gor Mahia came back in April 2011 with Jimmy Bageya bagging the all-important goal.

Speaking to Mozzart Sport in a previous interview, Sanjin Alagić noted that he is looking to surprise Gor but acknowledged the tough task at hand. 

“Playing against Gor will be a great challenge for my players and I believe in this match guys don't need special motivation to give their best at this moment. It will be a demanding match for both teams after a long break without football. We'll see which team will have a better reaction in these specific circumstances,”

“It does not matter if they don't have good results this season as they did previously, Gor is always Gor. Team with amazing tradition and great players. They are favourites in this match but I also believe we can play enough good and quality matches to surprise them," said Alagić.