Last year K’Ogalo
fans were treated to an incredible unbeaten run in the league on their way to
extending a record breaking 15 league titles. The unbeaten streak running from
the last two matches of the previous season (2014) however only extended into
three matches at the beginning of the 2016 season to finally end at 35 matches.
Many fans would be wont to believe that this is a record streak especially given
the fact that the only often quoted streak is that of the old enemy, Ingwe,
that stood at 47 in the 1985-87 period. Well, as impressive as going 35 matches
unbeaten is, it is not the longest unbeaten streak in the league by Gor Mahia.
And no, you don’t have to go back into the 70s to find K’Ogalo’s longest league
unbeaten streak.
Having seen
AFC Leopards dominate the league in the 1988, Gor Mahia set themselves up to
the task of reclaiming their lost glory. After beginning the 1989 league on a
losing note going down 0-1 to Kenya Breweries, Gor Mahia struggled to get their
footing, winning only 3 of their first 10 games and drawing another 4 while
losing 2. As fans began to give up on the team, Gor Mahia would put up a
spirited fight for the rest of the season, winning 8 of their next 10 games and
drawing only 2 to establish themselves as title challengers. A midseason slump
would however see them draw 4 consecutive games between match day 24 and 27
(twice to Kisumu Posta, Raymond FC of Eldoret and MoW) before embarking on a 4
game winning streak in which they scored 14 goals. A draw against Shabana would
however ensure the title went to AFC Leopards but Gor Mahia had by now gone 24
games without losing.
They would
begin the 1990 season with the same momentum, winning 7 out of their first 10
games with only draws against Rivatex, AFC Leopards and Bandari keeping them in
check. Just when it looked like MoW would stop them on match day 12, Peter Dawo
game to the rescue with an equalizer after MoW had led for most of the game.
Ensuing chaos resulted in a replay and Gor Mahia would hold their nerve in a
hostile Kakamega ground to settle for a goalless draw. It would take another 8
games before Scarlet finally stopped them on match-day 21, winning 1-0 at
Afraha Stadium. The streak would end at
43 matches unbeaten with 28 wins and 15 draws.
The class
of 2015 fell 8 games short of this game but with 25 wins out of their unbeaten
35 games they were certainly the most prolific of the two sides when it came to
winning games, having won 71% of their games compared to 65% of games won by 1989-1990
team. The mid 1970s team was however
slightly more prolific, winning 28 matches in a 32 matches for a 87.5% win
ratio, just shedding the record of another 33 game unbeaten streak set in the
early eighties when the team won 27 games (82%).
As usual I
will use a table to rank the best unbeaten streak to see how the sides have
compared over the years.
Year(s)
|
# of matches unbeaten
|
Wins
|
Draws
|
% of wins
|
1989-1990
|
43
|
28
|
15
|
65%
|
2014-2016
|
35
|
25
|
10
|
71%
|
1983
|
33
|
27
|
5
|
82%
|
1975-1977
|
32
|
28
|
4
|
88%
|
1982
|
27
|
16
|
11
|
59%
|
1974-1975
|
23
|
20
|
3
|
87%
|
Next Week I
will take a peek at K’Ogalo’s longest winning streaks.
Tobias Ocholla, stalwart of the late 80s and early 90s K'Ogalo defence
