Can Gor end 30 years of waiting in Dar?

IN DAR ES SALAAM

A year ago when Gor Mahia players exited the Cecafa Club Championship at the group stages without a single victory, very few football enthusiasts were shocked.

Even Bobby Williamson, who was their coach at the time was not.

Upon their return at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Williamson accepted that his players were facing a crisis of confidence and said: “The players gave their very best in the competition. We came up against very strong teams and the apart from the results, the exposure helped us pick very vital lessons going forward.”

Flash forward to 2015 and it appears the puzzle has somewhat been solved. The Kenyan Premier League defending champions are unbeaten in all their 18 home matches, and they have carried their unbeaten record to the Cecafa championships where they share a seven point lead with group ‘A’ leaders Al Khartoum.

Now, if K’Ogalo were to defy the odds and bring the region’s most coveted silverware back to Kenya for the first time since 1985, they will have to overcome the usual suspects.

Tanzanian moneybags Azam and their Tanzanian counterparts Yanga look the most daunting obstacle of all based on their unbeaten record and the fact that they have a fierce attacking line of Raymond Domayo, Hamid Mayo and John Raphael Bocco.

Azam is also fuelled by the fact that coach Stewart Hall is in search of history with his first Cecafa Club Championship title, and their performance in group ‘C’ show that they have what it takes to win the title.

SHEER DETERMINATION

But all this sheer determination, high quality players and rich technical bench are assets that apply equally to Rwanda’s APR, Al Khartoum and Yanga, who also have serious aspirations of clinching the trophy.

APR are top of group ‘B’ having won all their matches, while the unbeaten Al Khartoum top group ‘‘A with seven points.

So far, the Cecafa management has done a commendable job in the organisation of this tournament, and there have been no complaints from either locals or visiting team so far.

The tournament also seems to have been received well by residents here and match attendance even in matches that do not involve the home team has been rather impressive.

Each team is desperately sweating for the prize money that has been pegged at Sh6 million (60,000 USD), with an additional Sh2 million and 1 million reserved for first and second runners-up.

Having already confirmed their place in the quarter finals of the competitions for the first time in more than two decades, Gor fans feel they have made their presence felt in the tournament. That the first quarter-final match is yet to be played is mere detail.

For this, Nuttall and his players know what is at stake, and they know the questions that will come should they fail.

But they have coped admirably with the pressure so far and having gained entry in the round of 16, they will surely approach those knockout games believing that they finally belong among East Africa’s best teams.

Watching them play, one gets the sense that all of the insecurities that gripped the less gifted outfit that recorded zero wins last year have finally left them.

So bright is the spotlight placed on them, so great and heavy the expectation that recently, that Nuttall accused the region’s media of committing journalism’s most detested sin - Sensationalism.

NUTTALL IRKED

Nuttall, who was taking the team through their paces a day before their match against Al Khartoum, was so irked by the question as to whether he is gunning for the ultimate title.

“There is too much focus on our team. Everyone is painting the picture that we are favourites to win the title which I think is misplaced sensationalism. The real favourites of this tournament are home teams Yanga and Azam,” the visibly annoyed Scot answered.

But how can he denounce the club’s prospects of clinching the trophy when they have made winning look so routine? With a promising squad, K’Ogalo has captured the imagination of the public here so much their rivals (local and regional), are left in denial.

The sparkling home performance, now carried over to this regional tournament, has drawn considerable attention and now, the mundane talk that they are always powered by the timid and unqualified local referees has become muted.

Here in Tanzania, fortune tellers have begun to tell the story of passion meeting passion in the finals. Predictions are being made that Gor will meet Yanga in the ultimate match.

And so K’Ogalo head into the quarter-finals of the tournament starting on Monday and already, those who were around to witness the glorious Gor Mahia of 1985 are having dizzying memories of the heights that class of players achieved.

Put together, their performance in the Kenyan Premier League and the Cecafa championship has been a show of strength.

From the vital saves made by goalkeeper Boniface Oluoch, the brilliance of striker Meddie Kagere, to the sheer work rate of his counterpart Michael Olunga who scored a stunning goal in their 3-1 win against KMKM, the team has won over rivals in Dar es Salaam, with defender Karim Nizigiyimana winning over many admirers.

For Olunga, Oluoch and midfielder Khalid Aucho, the tournament means something extra.

Although there is a great possibility that K’Ogalo will capitulate in the final round of the tournament, the 14-time champions remain (among all their Cecafa opponents), a team to watch out for.

Few had backed them up in their opening match but they recorded their best performance of all, beating them 2-1 as a solid indication of where they want to be.

The five-team group ‘A’ has always had a charm of its own, and their previous match up against Al Khartoum was nothing more than a tactical contest between Nuttall and Ghanaian coach Kwesi Appiah.

Asked to comment about this, the pragmatic Nuttall repudiated by nature, saying that like every other team in the competitions, he had come into the tournament with the intention of winning every next match.

But speculation aside, the tactical Nuttall is a man who spends a considerable amount of time playing chess in his mind, and with the aim of winning from both ends.

So, can the 14-time Kenyan champions make further inroads into the latter stages of the tournament? Has Gor Mahia finally come of age?