Gor Mahia out to end the rot in Mashemeji derby

Gor Mahia coach Steven Polack is confident that his charges will bounce back from a disappointing week with a win when they take on eternal rivals AFC Leopards in the Mashemeji derby on Sunday.

Polack cut a dejected figure on the touchline on Wednesday as Mathare United ended Gor Mahia's perfect start to the season with a 1-0 win in Machakos, barely three days after K'Ogalo were bundled out of the Caf Confederation Cup by DC Motema Pembe.

With the players reportedly failing to turn up for training on Tuesday over unpaid salaries and allowances, the Englishman watched as his charges put up a lethargic display against a determined Mathare side, before going down to Daniel Otieno's 89th minute winner.

“I’m not worried about the derby. A good win would have given us confidence going into the match on Sunday but on the flipside, a loss is also a wakeup call – we have to go out there and show people who we are on Sunday,” Polack said.

The team did not take a day off after the loss to Mathare as they were in training on Thursday morning and will do the same until Sunday.

“We have a routine as a team and I feel we haven’t trained well in the past week. We need to make up for the lost time and we therefore won’t take any day off. We need to get back to our best,” he said.

Meanwhile, the club has reverted to selling physical tickets ahead of the derby. The club had adopted e-ticketing in the last few matches but chairman Ambrose Rachier says the change is due to loss of revenue.

BOLO FURIOUS

Club Treasurer Sally Bolo however feels this is backward move. She however urges fans to get tickets in good time and turn out in large numbers to cheer the team.

“Everyone, even the local grocery shop is collecting revenue using digital means and I wonder why Gor Mahia, the biggest club in Kenya, would opt to go back to traditional means of selling tickets. We had tested the system and fans had already embraced it. We even launched a USSD code to ensure even those with fans that cannot access the internet would still purchase their tickets in a simplified process,” she lamented.

“For instance the Soweto Derby in South Africa – the tickets are already sold out. We need to embrace change and work on improving our ticketing and the match day experience for the fans,” she added.

Tickets will go on sale on match day at the match venue outside gates 12 and 2, opposite Safari Park Hotel and Gomongo Police Station. This will be the 88th league meeting between the two rivals.

Last season, Gor Mahia edged out Ingwe 2-0 in the first leg encounter and 3-1 in the return tie. It will also be Steven Polack’s first Mashemeji derby, something he says he looks forward to.