League title race enters crucial phase

Gor Mahia could be declared Kenyan Premier League champions as early as this weekend should they beat Sofapaka in Machakos in a crucial match and Tusker fail to beat Ushuru FC on Friday.

The high-riding champions will travel to Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos to play the ‘Batoto ba Mungu’ on Sunday. Victory for Gor will take them to 57 points, effectively locking Sofapaka out of the race.

On the other hand, a draw for Tusker on Friday at Kasarani against the Ken Kenyatta-coached Ushuru would mean the maximum points the brewers can accumulate is 55, assuming they are awarded three points from Sunday’s abandoned match against Muhoroni Youth.

Still, they will be two points shy of what Gor will have accumulated in case of a Sofapaka win.

At the same time, should Tusker lose to Uhuru, Gor would be home and dry as Tusker’s maximum points would come to 54 if they win their two remaining fixtures against Thika United and Sofapaka, and are also awarded tree points from the Muhoroni fixture.

MAXIMUM POINTS

The Francis Kimanzi-coached brewers have a mathematical chance of winning the title and can still delay Gor’s coronation by a week if they beat Ushuru.

Should Tusker win all their three matches left to earn nine points and are awarded there points against Muhoroni, they would collect a maximum 57 points, same as Gor would should the win in Machakos.

K’Ogalo have coach Frank Nuttall to thank for their fairytale run. The Scot has made his tactical shrewdness do the talking at K’Ogalo’s technical bench.

He is unbeaten in the six league matches he has presided over, guiding the Champions to three wins and a similar number of draws. Under his reign, Gor have been playing some breath-taking football, pressing the opposition deep into their own half.

A two-prong attack of 2010 KPL Player of the Year George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo and 2012 Most Valuable Player Dan Sserunkuma has proved a fearsome force.

“We played well in a tough match against Mathare United (on Sunday). We are taking one match at a time. Odhiambo (George) is also doing well,”Nuttal said at the weekend. “I hope we can continue with this form and put up another big performance in our next match (against Sofapaka).”