Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards cancel out at Nyayo Stadium
Gor Mahia’s Harun Shakava (left) and AFC Leopards’ Noah Wafula tussle for the ball as Musa Mohammed closes in during their Tusker Premier League match at Nyayo Stadium on July 27, 2014. The game ended 2-2. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO
What you need to know:
- The last Mashemeji derby of the season ended all even.
- The match was however robbed of all sanity at the half way stage as fans turned rowdy.
Pride, bragging rights and three points were at stake but at the end of an absorbing 90 minutes of sumptuous Kenyan Premier League football old enemies Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards shared the spoils 2-2.
Gor will, however, feel aggrieved having come so close while Leopards will be satisfied having snatched the first lead but forced to rally from a 2-1 deficit to rescue a precious point late, late in the game.
Dan Sserunkuma — the man chosen to lead Gor’s forward line after a two-week sojourn to Denmark — lived up to his reputation of a Leopards slayer. On this particular cloudy afternoon he claimed a brace, striking either side of the break.
Until he scored a thumping header in the 42nd from an Erick Ochieng corner kick, the diminutive Ugandan, who has formed a knack for scoring against Leopards, had had a rather quiet game.
Leopards were the first to score when Noah Wafula tapped home early on before Sserunkuma equalized. The Uganda Cranes striker then gave Gor the lead with an easy finish but Leopards made sure things ended all even when captain Martin Imbalambala drove the ball home from outside the area helped in part by poor goalkeeping from Jerim Onyango.
Derbies are always very tense affairs for participating sides, and for Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards fans, Sunday was no exception. From as early as 11am Nairobi’s CBD began to look more green and blue than the usually balanced mix of colours.
On the pitch protocol was overridden by delirium and exuberance. Unlike in the first leg, Gor blinked first. But Sserunkuma came through for Gor yet again.
Thus the last Mashemeji derby of the season ended all even but with the Green Army feeling like the losers after restricting Ingwe for most of the second half.
Wafula put Leopards on an early lead, and for a moment it looked as though K’Ogalo were headed for another heartbreak before saviour Sserenkuma struck.
The match was however robbed of all sanity at the half way stage as fans turned rowdy. Police responded and the stadium was soon filled with an all too familiar white, thick and choking cloud of tear gas that sent fans scampering all over in the bedlam that followed.
This lasted a good half hour but it did not truncate the tempo when the tie resumed.
Additional reporting by Cellestine Olilo
