Former Gor Mahia coach Bob Oyugi is confident that the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League champions can still turn the tables and eliminate Egyptian giants Al Al Ahly from the CAF Champions League.
K’Ogalo’s chances of reaching the group stage of the inter-club competition suffered a huge blow after the African champions registered a 3-0 win in the first leg second preliminary round fixture at Nyayo Stadium on Sunday, September 15.
Goals from Ramy Rabia in the 14th minute and a brace from South African forward Percy Tau in the 15th and 73rd minutes respectively ensured that the record Champions League winners will head into the return leg in Cairo after a fortnight with a healthy advantage.
During the fixture at Nyayo Stadium, Gor Mahia started off strongly and after missing two open chances, Al Ahly punished Gor Mahia with the opener when Rabi met a cross from Tau to sneak it past goalkeeper Kevin Omondi.
Before dust could settle, the Red Devils, who have won the Champions League trophy a record 12 times in history, scored the second to stun the record Kenyan champions. A poor defending by K’Ogalo players allowed Tau to steal the ball before slotting it past Omondi.
From there on, the game belonged to Al Ahly, who, despite playing away from home, continued to attack for more goals. In fact, Gor Mahia were very lucky to have headed into the half-time break trailing by a slim 2-0 margin.
Al Ahly started the second period from where they had left, and after a host of missed chances, they finally grabbed the third, the Bafana Bafana striker finding the back of the net to end K’Ogalo’s slim hopes of staging a comeback.
GOR MAHIA CAN STILL BEAT AL AHLY AND ADVANCE
According to Oyugi, who helped Gor Mahia to win the Premier League title in 1993, all is not lost for the Kenyan side because they can still get a positive result in Cairo with proper mentality.
“They (Gor Mahia) can still turn the tables, yes, it is possible, this situation happens all over the world. Gor Mahia players are highly technical, and creative. They only need to change their mentality. The coach, and officials should ensure that the players are in their proper mental state. You remember we had the same challenge with Hellenic FC from South Africa in 1993,” Oyugi told SportsBoom.com.
“We beat them (Hellenic) 2-0 here in Nairobi, after they had beaten us 3-1 in Cape town to qualify. So, what makes you think that Gor Mahia cannot do the same, go to Egypt and get a positive result? It is football and we must accept that football dynamics have changed in recent years, everything is possible. Does it mean Al Ahly being the African champions are unshakable?”
During the Gor Mahia versus Hellenic Confederation Cup second round fixture, the South African club came as the favourites having finished second behind Kaizer Chiefs in the league. Hellenic were heavily favoured against Gor Mahia. They were a fully professional outfit whereas Gor Mahia was a fully amateur team.
Secondly, Hellenic came into this round red hot. They had beaten Malawi representatives MDC United 7-1 on aggregate after drawing 1-1 in Lilongwe and winning 6-0 in Cape Town while Gor Mahia had eliminated Uganda Coffee 1-0 aggregate.
Oyugi continued: “What is the African champions? Who said that African champions are not supposed to lose a game? I think Gor Mahia went with that belief and lost the game. Kenyan teams need to change their mentality against North African teams. Our players are inferior mostly to the Arab world.
“Football is a manner less game, and all is possible. If they (Al Ahly) can score three goals here, then Gor Mahia can comfortably score three goals in Cairo.”