Gor Mahia coach Leonardo Martins Neiva has come out to speak for the first time why he axed midfielder Rooney Onyango from the starting XI for their second preliminary CAF Champions League return leg clash against Al Ahly on Saturday, September 21.

K’Ogalo faced the African champions from Egypt seeking to overturn a 3-0 defeat suffered from the first leg at the Nyayo Stadium on September 15. However, K’Ogalo’s line-up for the decisive game at the Cairo International Stadium saw the name of Onyango missing despite being among the players, who had made the trip to the North African nation.

Apart from Onyango, the Brazilian tactician further made changes to the goalkeeping line with Gad Mathews coming in between the sticks after a very long spell out with injury to replace youngster Kevin Omondi.

In the defence, Martins Neiva trusted Geoffrey Ochieng, Sylvester Owino, Alpha Onyango and captain Philemon Otieno while Alphonse Omija, Enock Morrison and Austin Odhiambo marshalled the midfield. Shariff Musa and Samuel Kapen played behind striker Chris Ochieng.

However, the omission of Onyango elicited a lot of debate amongst a section of K’Ogalo faithful with some questioning why the 24-year-old, who has been a key figure in the sides’ recent success, was missing from the crucial game.

Martins Neiva Puts Record Straight on Rooney’s Axe
Speaking exclusively to SportsBoom.com after the Al Ahly game, Martins Neiva confirmed the Kenya national team Harambee Stars player had been dropped because of disciplinary issues.

“Rooney (Onyango) missed the game because of lack of commitment, behaviour and discipline. We are a team and we need to work together for teamwork,” Martins Neiva told SportsBoom.com.

Asked whether the player will be available for K’Ogalo’s next assignment, Martins Neiva responded: “This is an internal issue that we are going to solve.”

However, SportsBoom.com understands Martins Neiva took the decision because the player had a day prior to the Al Ahly stormed out of a training session and refused to honour the coach’s summons while rebelling against being fielded in offensive positions.

Onyango has been an integral part of K’Ogalo’s squad and was the hero when they staged a comeback to defeat El Merreikh of South Sudan 5-1 in the return leg of their first round Champions League fixture at Nyayo Stadium on August 25.

The huge win saw K’Ogalo overturn a 1-0 first leg defeat suffered in Juba to qualify for the second round on a 5-2 aggregate win and book a date to face Al Ahly. During the game at Nyayo, Gor Mahia trailed in the opening seven minutes but a quick turn around saw them score goals through Chris Ochieng, Alpha Onyango, Alphonse Omija before Rooney Onyango completed the rout with a brace in the 80th and 92nd minute.

After the game, Martins Neiva singled out praise for Onyango, who had grabbed the headlines, for his superb display. “Rooney (Onyango) really played well. He is a very gifted, quality player, who can play in many positions,” said the former Vipers SC coach.

Former Gor Mahia official Ronald Ngala believes Onyango should allow the coach to mould him because he understands him better on which area he can play him. Ngala gave the example of Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, who was a left back at Arsenal before switching to the attacking role.

“Bukayo (Saka) was a left wing back at Arsenal before becoming a lethal attacking midfielder. Players should allow the coach to mold them,” said Ngala. “Closer still, Tillien Oguta was a lethal attacking midfielder before Coach Otti decided that he could be a better player at left wing back.”

After Kenya’s 2-2 draw against Russia in a friendly on October 16, 2023, Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat lauded Onyango for his breathtaking display after he made his senior debut and tipped him for greatness.

“He worked well and if somebody is working well, they really deserve to play. This is what happened with Rooney and he is not somebody who is pushed by the media. He is only a footballer and concentrates on football. He is a player who has got a lot of potential and is ready to work on it,” said the Turkish coach.