Gor Mahia: The Champions Go Marching On

Congratulations are in order for the 2015 league Champions, the Mighty K”Ogalo. 

Last night’s 1-0 win over Sony Sugar FC, courtesy of Innocent Wafula's first half strike was enough to all but confirm what everyone knew was coming. Winning the league with 4 games to go in modern times is no mean feat by itself. And in winning the league for the third consecutive season, records are already tumbling,  records that we will continue to revise as the season comes to an end because this is a history making team. However for now the following are worth noting:

Gor Mahia becomes the first team to win the league three consecutive times on two occasions since the league began in the early 60s. Only two other teams have won the league on three consecutive occasions before (AFC Leopards 1980-1982 and Ulinzi Stars (2003-2005) but Gor Mahia is the first team to do it twice (1983-1985 and 2013-2015). On both occasions they have done it in years ending with 3,4,and 5 – coincidence or planned?

Of course this was also its fifteenth league title, extending the lead over AFC Leopards’ to 2 trophies (or 3 trophies depending on your argument about 1971). They thus continue to be the most successful club in the Kenyan league with AFC Leopards and Tusker following. Below is the list of the most successful teams in the league in terms of trophies won

Team	Championships
Gor Mahia	15
AFC Leopards	13
Tusker FC	10
Ulinzi Stars	4
Re Union Nakuru All Stars Oserian	2

The only other clubs to have won the league trophy are Feisal, Utalii FC, Mathare United, Sofapaka, and Sony FC who all have a trophy each.

In winning the league in 2013, Gor Mahia only scored 32 goals. By the time of winning the league this year, they have already scored 54 goals (two awarded for the abandoned game). So  is this Gor Mahia team the best scoring league champions in this period? I went back to the records to dig this up.

Year	Champions	Goals Scored
2008	Mathare United	47
2009	Sofapaka	39
2010	Ulinzi Stars	37
2011	Tusker FC	34
2012	Tusker FC	39
2013	Gor Mahia	32
2014	Gor Mahia	43
2015	Gor Mahia	54*

With four to games still to play and with a rate of slightly over 2 goals per game, we can confidently say that this Gor Mahia side is the most free scoring team in modern times. At the current rate 60 goals is surely a possibility. 

They say Championship sides are built from the back – the defence.  Past Tusker FC teams have been fabled for their defences so I sought to find out where our current defence would rank among the championship winning sides. Here is how this side compares.

Year	Champions	Goals Conceded
2008	Mathare United	22
2009	Sofapaka	21
2010	Ulinzi Stars	16
2011	Tusker FC	17
2012	Tusker FC	14
2013	Gor Mahia	15
2014	Gor Mahia	21
2015	Gor Mahia	12*

As it stands, this is indeed the meanest defence of them all but Gor Mahia will need to concede not more than two goals in their remaining 4 games to keep the record ahead of the brewers.

I also had a look at the points tally previously held by Mathare United, and again, records are tumbling on that front.

Year	Champions	Points Tally
2008	Mathare United	63
2009	Sofapaka	59
2010	Ulinzi Stars	59
2011	Tusker FC	58
2012	Tusker FC	60
2013	Gor Mahia	60
2014	Gor Mahia	60
2015	Gor Mahia	66*

The big one remaining though is to see how far we can maintain the unbeaten league run. Currently the team is on a 28 game unbeaten run with the possibility of going the distance unbeaten. Only Western Stima, Muhoroni Youth, Tusker and Sofapaka stand on our way. 

Innocent Wafula celebrates the goal that secured the 2015 championship

Pic courtesy of Goal.com

The Green Army Set to Soldier On Against the Soldiers

This Sunday K’ogalo and its faithful followers The Green Army, make the 200 kilometers road trip to the agri-industrial town of Nakuru to face their only title challengers, Ulinzi Stars. By the end of 90 minutes they might be making the return trip having been confirmed the 2015 league champions. Indeed a win or draw will see them confirmed champions while a win for Ulinzi will see them retain a slim mathematical chance of upsetting the defending champions to the finish line. Gor Mahia has a 12 point lead over Ulinzi with a game in hand and so it will take something special, Gor Mahia losing all their remaining matches with Ulinzi winning all of theirs, for anyone to entertain the thought of Gor bottling it. Everyone knows it will take a miracle for that to happen.

With the championship more or less secured, what incentive is there for the Green Army? For K’ogalo the ambition is now to finish the league unbeaten and with Tusker wobbling, Sofapaka weakened and having dispatched off Bandari the last time out in Mombasa, Ulinzi Stars remain the only side perceived as a threat to this unbeaten run. Indeed over the last couple of years, actually since the title run-in in 2010, there has been no love lost between the soldiers and the green army.  For the players and the technical bench, it is an opportunity to etch their names alongside the great Gor Mahia teams of the mid 80s – something that older fans will however have reservations about.  And having already hit the 20 goals margin for Gor Mahia this season (15 in the league and 5 in CECAFA), Michael Olunga will be itching to not only challenge for the golden boot but stake his claim to be among the best strikers the club has seen – again, something that older fans will have reservations about.

Encounters between the two sides have been tense and often physical affairs, with very few goals flying in. There have only been 19 goals in 15 league games between the two sides since 2008, with Gor netting 12 of those. Only Tusker and Sofapaka have prevented K’Ogalo from scoring more in the league (teams that have played more than 10 games) in this period.  You have to go back to 23 August 2009 to witness the last time any of these teams scored more than 2 goals against each in any competition,  a George Odhiambo “Blackberry”  double inspiring Gor to a 4-2 win at Afraha.  Last season Rama Salim and David Owino ensured that Gor won this fixture 2-1 so it is a ground that they are comfortable on, having already scored 4 past Chemelil Sugar FC at the beginning of this second leg. During this time Gor has won 40% of their league matches against Ulinzi (6 games) and lost 4 with 5 others ending in draws. Also no team has done a double over the other in a season in this period, a status Gor will be keen to see changed and one that Ulinzi will want to preserve.

So even as Gor marches to its third league trophy in succession (a feat only managed by Ulinzi in modern times since the indomitable AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia teams of the 80s), there will be all to play for and Afraha will be a battle ground come Sunday.

Meddie Kagere and Michael Olunga destroyed the soldiers in the first leg fixture (photo courtesy of Official Gor Mahia)