K’Ogalo banking on home support to advance
What you need to know:
- The local champions were undone by goals from Mahmoud Alaa who put Zamalek ahead in the tenth minute by heading into an empty net from a free kick after Samuel Onyango had fouled his man at the edge of the area.
- Up until that moment, poor Gor should have been two goals down but were bailed out by ‘keeper Onyango.
Local champions Gor Mahia are now banking on their famous home support as they plot an assault against Angolan club Petro Atletico this Sunday at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in their final Confederation Cup Group “D” match.
The 17-time champions were beaten 4-0 by Zamalek in Egypt on Sunday night, and now require a victory in their remaining match against Petro Atletico if they are to guarantee their passage to quarter-finals.
With their poor away record against north African opponents over the last two decades, it was expected that Gor would struggle against the White Knights who had lost their first three group games and who were desperate to get back on track.
But K’Ogalo delivered a performance that was well below par and had it not been the prowess of goalkeeper Fredrick Onyango who single-handedly bailed the team out three times with his impressive saves, the result could have been much worse.
From the defensive mishaps of the four-man defence led by Harun Shakava to the fruitless runs by the front line led by Jacques Tuyisenge and later Dennis Oliech, Gor’s performance was a far cry from the euphoric scenes witnessed from the same team in the first leg last month which ended 4-2 in favour of the hosts.
It was a culmination of the team’s horrendous away record that has seen them collect zero points in the course of the 2018/2019 Confederation Cup while conceding seven goals and scoring only one.
The heavy defeat left Gor bottom of the group on six points as Zamalek soared to the top on eight. Angolan side Petro Atletico, who thumped Hussein Dey of Algeria 2-0 earlier on Sunday, are second on seven points, similar to Hussein Dey who have an inferior goal difference.
To conserve their hopes of making it to the last eight, K’Ogalo now need nothing short of victory on Sunday.
The local champions were undone by goals from Mahmoud Alaa who put Zamalek ahead in the tenth minute by heading into an empty net from a free kick after Samuel Onyango had fouled his man at the edge of the area.
Up until that moment, poor Gor should have been two goals down but were bailed out by ‘keeper Onyango.
