Stakes raised…
Gor Mahia will be seeking to put behind them the embarrassment of losing to nondescripts Vihiga United 1-0 last weekend when they face Zoo Kericho in a mid-week Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League match at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) today.
Elsewhere at Afraha Stadium, Ulinzi Stars and Mathare United will be hoping to shake off shared spoils with their respective opponents last weekend when they square it out in a game of ‘equals’.
After succumbing to their third loss of the season, Gor are expected to be a vengeful lot against Zoo and especially this time when they have an involving Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation Cup playoff against Napsa Stars of Zambia next month.
The first leg of the play-off is penciled for Nairobi on February 14 with the reverse fixtures programmed for Lusaka on February 21.
As for the fixture against Zoo, Gor who have been struggling to win matches will be meeting yet another side that is thirsting for an improved performance since being readmitted to the top flight league by the federation following a successful appeal to the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT).
Zoo are placed at the base of the league table with a paltry two points from four matches and a win will put them within touching distance of second last team Mathare United.
On the other hand, victory for tenth placed Gor will enable them to overtake Post Rangers, Sofapaka and Nairobi City Stars and ultimately take the seventh slot in the log.
Gor captain Kenneth Muguna believes if they get their priorities right, they should breeze past Zoo and indeed the rest of the fixtures to make their fans happy.
“We’ll try to give our best and hopefully put all the three points in the bag. We’ve learned from our mistakes from the game against Zoo,” offered Muguna
Besides Muguna, other players Gor are expected to depend for victory include Burundian Jules Ulimwengu and Samuel Onyango, John Macharia and Andrew Malisero
In Nakuru, the match between Ulinzi and Mathare should ignite fire-works given the battle hardened nature of the two teams.
Ulinzi, who are number eleven in the league, have only won one match and, just like Gor, they will be vouching for a win to haul themselves for a respectable placing moving forward.
Mathare have also registered a single win out of four matches and will be going flat out to make an improvement.
Last week, Ulinzi were held 0-0 by Posta Rangers while Mathare settled for a similar result with Bandari.
