Gor Mahia down Congolese side in Cecafa opener

Gor Mahia's Wellington Ochieng' (centre) celebrates his goal against Congolese club AS Maniema with Geoffrey Ochieng' during their Cecafa Kagame Cup Group 'D' match at the Umugunda Stadium in Rubavu, Rwanda on July 8, 2019.

Photo credit: Pool | CECAFA

What you need to know:

  • The Kenyan champions were aided by a wonder goal from right back Wellington Ochieng en-route to a 2-1 win over colourful Congolese club AS Maniema on Monday evening.
  • Earlier on at the same venue, an energetic AS Port had Gabriel Dadzie to thank after his two goals helped the Djiboutians defeat Zanzibar's Kikosi Maalum Cha Kuzuia Magendo (KMKM) 2-0.

IN RUBAVU, RWANDA.

A rusty Gor Mahia and Djibouti's AS Port have assumed command of the proceedings in Group 'D' at the 2019 Cecafa Kagame Cup following respective victories in their opening engagements here at the Umugunda Stadium.

The Kenyan champions were aided by a wonder goal from right back Wellington Ochieng en-route to a 2-1 win over colourful Congolese club AS Maniema on Monday evening.

Earlier on at the same venue, an energetic AS Port had Gabriel Dadzie to thank after his two goals helped the Djiboutis defeat Zanzibar's Kikosi Maalum Cha Kuzuia Magendo (KMKM) 2-0.

"I thank God for the two goals and I want to continue scoring. I'm hoping to be the top scorer in this tournament," Ghanaian Dadzie explained post match.

And in Huye town, Bandari, Kenya's other representative in this 16-team competition, will on Tuesday afternoon intensify the search for a first victory in this tournament in a potentially thrilling game against hosts Mukura Victory.

The Dockers scored first through Abdalla Hassan, but had to eventually settle for a one-all draw against Ugandan champions Kampala City Capital Authority on Sunday.

Back to the hilly Rubavu, Rwanda's third largest town, Hassan Oktay's K'Ogalo were in control for the entire match against a side which finished in position four in the DR Congo league last season behind champions TP Mazembe, AS Vita and Daring Club Motema Pembe respectively.

The tournament organisers had strategically picked guest team Maniema to play their matches on the shores of Lake Kivu here in Rubavu, two kilometres from the Rwanda/DR-Congo border. The tactic worked, as hundreds of Congolese fans trooped to the stadium to cheer on their team.

But it eventually didn't matter.

After a goalless opening quarter, Ochieng dispossessed the giant Abedi Masudi at the centre of the park in the 22nd minute. He then dribbled forward, weighed his options and fired a thunder bolt that flew past the despairing dive of keeper Bukasa Mangala.

Kenneth Muguna and Samuel Onyango lost clear chances to extend Gor's lead, but Boniface Omondi made no mistake after the break.

He easily beat the offside trap, then produced a cheeky dummy that left Mangala lying on the turf, before slotting the ball into an empty net for K'Ogalo's second.

In Oktay's first competitive match of the season, new signing Tobias Otieno impressed in midfield with his tackling and range of passing skills.

Oktay also summoned other new signings Dennis Oalo and Ambundo Dickson as second half substitutes.

That's before Likweya Jeremaya scored a consolation for Maniema from the penalty spot in the dying moments of the game.