Did season interruption hurt Gor, Tusker continental assignments?
Could the disruption of the FKF Premier League by the Sports ministry have partly contributed to the elimination of Gor Mahia and Tusker from the CAF Confederation Cup?
Gor and Tusker have now been confined to local action after they were bundled out of the CAF Confederation by their respective opponents at the weekend.
After losing 1-0 to Otoho D’Oyo of Congo Brazzaville away at Stade Alphonse Massamba-Débat, Gor settled for an uninspiring 1-1 draw with the visitors in the reverse fixture at Nyayo National Stadium to bow out of the event on a 2-1 aggregate on Sunday.
As for Tusker, they were held to a goalless draw by AS Sfaxien of Tunisia in Nairobi before losing 1-0 to the North Africans in the decider away to kiss goodbye the competition on a 1-0 aggregate.
Tusker coach Robert Matano had raised concern over the league’s intermission, saying it had hurt the fitness levels of most local players.
Matano’s sentiments were well documented in the first leg match against AS Sfaxien in which the visitors, whose national Premier League in Tunisia, has been running, demonstrated great athleticism unlike Tusker who relied on fast breaks in search of goals.
Former AFC Leopards midfielder Charles Okwemba had also expressed his reservations about the Kenyan emissaries making an impression due to the league break although he reckoned that football being what it is, anything was bound to happen.
