Spluttering Gor Mahia host Sony Sugar as Oktay feels the heat

By  Vincent Opiyo, SJ

What you need to know:

  • Gor are winless in three matches, a run that has put the Turkish-Cypriot under immense pressure.
  • Eleventh-placed Leopards, frustrated after bowing out of SportPesa Cup at the hands of Simba SC in the first game last week, visit Zoo Kericho seeking only their third victory this season.
  • Looming Slum Derby battle between SportPesa Cup champions Kariobangi Sharks and Mathare United has left social media awash with fans from both teams engaging in banters.

Under-fire Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay will be hoping for a quick turn of fortune as K'Ogalo host Sony Sugar in the SportPesa Premier League on Wednesday at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos.

Gor's last match at the same venue saw the reigning champions suffer a shock 1-0 loss to Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) on Sunday to add more pressure on Oktay's already hot seat following a string of poor results in the recent past.

Gor tackle Sony in Machakos just three days before welcoming Egyptian giants Zamalek in the opening game of the Caf Confederation Cup group “D”.

Also Read

Winless in three matches, the run has put the Turkish-Cypriot coach under immense pressure with chants of “Oktay must go” renting the air during the ill-tempered clash on Sunday that was stopped for 26 minutes due to crowd trouble.

AGWANDA SET TO FACE GOR

The Millers, with only two wins against Gor’s 14 in 22 previous meetings, come into this fixture after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Posta Rangers over the weekend.

“We’ve been creating chances that we need to convert to win games convincingly,” revealed Sony coach Patrick Odhiambo, who will once again rely on former Gor striker Enoch Agwanda to torment the spluttering champions.

Eleventh-placed Leopards, frustrated after bowing out of SportPesa Cup at the hands of Simba SC in the first hurdle last week, visit Zoo Kericho seeking only their third victory of the season.

Three points separate the two sides with Zoo coach Sammy Okoth aiming to fix the errors that led to their 3-2 defeat to Sofapaka in Machakos on Sunday.

“We need to avoid conceding early and start the game on a high so that we don’t recover when damage is already done,” Okoth said.

At Bukhungu Stadium, Kakamega Homeboyz entertain SportPesa Cup losing finalists Bandari without Ugandan coach Paul Nkata and his assistant Hamza Kalanzi.

The two were shown the door on Tuesday over what club chairman Cleophas Shimanyula claimed to be match fixing.

Veteran Kenyan international striker Allan Wanga and goalkeeper trainer David Juma have taken charge in an acting capacity.

SHARKS-MATHARE FACE-OFF

The Dockers, who are five points below leaders Mathare United, have beaten Homeboyz four times in the past eight meetings with two matches ending in a draw.

At Kasarani Stadium, newly crowned SportPesa Cup champions Kariobangi Sharks will battle Mathare United in the Slum Derby, with the two neighbouring clubs already sounding war drums on social media ahead of the potentially explosive clash.

Sharks, under the tutelage of 32-year-old William Muluya, have emerged victorious twice against the Francis Kimanzi-led Mathare United who have a single win in four matches.

Mathare are nine points ahead of fifth-placed Sharks, but the latter have a game in hand.

FIXTURES (All matches kickoff at 3pm unless stated)

Zoo Kericho v AFC Leopards (Kericho Green stadium)

Kakamega Homeboyz v Bandari (Bukhungu stadium)

Kariobangi Sharks v Mathare United (MISC Kasarani)

Gor Mahia v Sony Sugar (Kenyatta stadium, Machakos, 4pm)

In the headlines