Gor aim fire at Posta Rangers, Mathare face Nzoia Sugar
What you need to know:
- ‘Green Army’ will also miss services of Ivorian star Yikpe who moved to Yanga and Ghanaian Afriye
- K’Ogalo coach Polack is away in England, and the slum boys are hungry for victory
Gor Mahia will be aiming to stretch their lead at the top of the table by three points when they play away to Posta Rangers at Narok Stadium this in one of the two Kenyan Premier League matches on Sunday.
In another match, 2008 champions Mathare United will fight to return to wining ways after a 3-0 loss to AFC Leopards last weekend when they host Nzoia Sugar at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
K'Ogalo will be without Briton coach Steven Polack who travelled for Christmas holiday in England. Assistant coach Patrick Odhiambo will be charge of the team in Sunday’s clash.
"I will be in charge and our aim is to continue wining so as to widen the gap at the top against our rivals," said Odhiambo.
Gor will miss the services of Ivorian Gislain Yikpe who has already sealed a move to Yanga SC and Ghanaian Francis Afriye who also left for his home country without consent from the management.
Meanwhile, Polack has told Nation Sport that he would be arriving Monday evening from England to continue with his duties after a one-week break.
“I will be in Nairobi by Monday evening after finishing my holiday. Fans should not be worried because I will be resuming my coaching role with the aim of winning the KPL title,” he said.
Posta Rangers coach Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo acknowledged it will be tough. He said his side has got no advantage against K'Ogalo who have been experiencing financial constraints.
“We cannot underrate Gor Mahia since with all the financial problems they have been experiencing, they have beaten teams like Kisumu All Stars without training. We are focusing on a win but I can acknowledge that it would be a very tough match for both sides,” said Omollo.
A win for Gor will mean they will be leading the KPL table with 31 points, three ahead of second-placed Tusker with two games at hand. On the other hand, a win of two goals and above for Posta Rangers, who are at position nine, will see them displace Sofapaka who are not playing this weekend.
In the other match, Mathare United coach Salim Ali urged his players to recover from Ingwe’s defeat and win against Nzoia at Kasarani.
Ali would be welcoming back the trio of Roy Okal, Kevin Kimani and Andrew Juma who were with Harambee Stars squad in the Cecafa Senior Challenge in Uganda last week. He also said he is monitoring James Kinyanjui and defender Harun Junior to see if they will pass a late fitness test before the game.
“We are playing at home and we must win to better our position in the table. We will be having a number of players back in the team though Kinyanjui and Harun are still doubtful and we are continuing to assess their fitness levels," he said.
Mathare United are in position 10 while Nzoia, who have only won two matches this season, are 14th in the now 17-team table after the suspension of Sony Sugar in November.
