Bitter rivals Gor, Leopards out to settle old scores
What you need to know:
- Top guns beat the war drums ahead of Sunday’s derby
- Going into the match though, both teams will be mulling a season that has up to this point been far from smooth.
Eternal rivals Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards will lock horns on Sunday in a match that has all the ingredients of a classic derby.
Going into the match, though, both teams will be mulling a season that has up to this point been far from smooth.
Although perched on top of the Kenyan Premier League table, Gor Mahia are grappling with financial difficulties. Added to that, they were ignominiously kicked out of the GOtv Shield last weekend by football featherweights GFE 105.
Leopards, on the other hand, despite having lesser financial worries, are enduring a poor run in the league. Since the beginning of the season, the team has been confined to the unfamiliar lower half of the table.
On Sunday, Ingwe will be looking to prove that their current position in the table is an aberration whereasK’Ogaloare determined to not only consolidate their lead but also to avenge their painful 3-1 loss to their old enemies seven weeks ago.
(READ: Hungry Leopards claw Gor Mahia)
Gor Mahia coach Bobby Williamson, calm as always, insists that the match is not a matter of life and death, although it’s an open secret that K’Ogalo’s fans are looking at this derby, possibly the last one this season, as nothing less than a revenge mission.
“The GOtv Shield exit is now behind us. We are tasked with greater challenges in terms of defending our league title as well as doing well in the forthcoming Cecafa Club Championships,” Williamson told Daily Nation Sport on Thursday.
WORRYING STATISTIC
“It is very difficult to predict the outcome of the derby, but I believe the players will give their best,” he added.
While both teams are guaranteed support from their fiercely partisan 12th man, a worrying statistic for the Scotsman is that K’Ogalo is yet to win a derby in his tenure. Leopards’ coach Pieter De Jongh, on the other hand, racked up his first derby win within weeks of his appointment.
Leopards will also draw confidence from their timely return to winning ways in a mid-week fixture against Nairobi City Stars.
While Leopards have struggled to score goals this term, they have managed victories over title contenders Tusker title holders Gor Mahia.
