Like Fish to Water - Gor Mahia vs Bandari Through the Years

On November 12 1995, Gor Mahia travelled to Mombasa to face Bandari in their final game of the season. Gor Mahia led the league but Kenya Breweries (now Tusker) were just a point behind them and waiting to pounce on the league title should Gor Mahia fall to Bandari. There was bad blood between Gor Mahia and Bandari as earlier in the year, a game between the two in the Moi Golden Cup had to be abandoned in Mombasa in bizarre circumstances and awarded to Gor Mahia after several weeks on tussling. Goals from Tom Ochieng, Pius Wamaya and Steve Odiaga settled the scores as Gor claimed their 12th league title before settling for a 18 year wait for their next title.

Bandari has another association with Gor Mahia success. In 1984 CAF had banned Gor Mahia for 3 years following the infamous fiasco in Egypt. With AFC Leopards having dethroned Gor Mahia from the league in 1986, their route back to continental football was through the Moi Golden Cup, the newly relaunched FA cup. Standing on their way in the finals was Bandari who gave them a hard time before Sammy Onyango Jogoo's late strike sealed the win. Of course Gor was to go ahead and win the trophy.

Since then Gor Mahia has played Bandari 31 times in the league. We have tracked down all the results of this fixture and Gor Mahia generally had it easy, like fish taking to water. KÓgalo has won 15, lost 5 and drawn 11, in the process scoring 32 goals and conceeding 15.The surprise top scorer in this fixture for Gor Mahia is Godfrey Walusimbi who has scored three times while for Bandari it is Ambrose Ayoyi who has also scored three times. The two of them are also the only players to score a brace in this fixture while no player has managed a hattrick. The biggest winning margin is 4-0 by Gor Mahia on 15 February 1997, 3-0 by Bandari on 20 April 1991 and 3-0 by Gor Mahia on 12 November 19995.

Walusimbi in action against Bandari

Pic: http://www.soka.co.ke/

As Gor Mahia matches towards their 16th league title, they start as favourites to win this weekend's match. With George Odhiambo in fine form, he could join the Walusimbi and Ambrose Ayoyi in the 3 goal club for this fixture as he has already score 2 goals (2009/ 2016). For Bandari, it has been six matches against Gor Mahia since their last win (2-1 on 30 March 2014) and will be hoping to break this streak.

The Nzoia Bogey - Gor vs Nzoia since 1979

It has always been said that Nzoia, in its various forms of existence, was Gor Mahia's bogey team. The notion is that matches between the two would always be 50-50 affairs over a season, with Nzoia winning in the West and Gor Mahia exacting revenge in Nairobi. Since their last appearance in the league in the 2005 season, it was generally expected that normal service would resume but Gor Mahia has already bucked that trend by winning the away fixture 1-0, thanks to Meddie Kagere. One would however argue that it was at Mumias and not the (in)famous Kanduyi. This weekend Gor Mahia will be seeking to do the double, again not in Nairobi but rather Kisumu. But is it true that Nzoia always posed a problem to Gor Mahia over the years? I decided to confirm this by going over results of all the meetings the two have had in the league.

Gor Mahia actually first played a league game against Nzoia in Kanduyi on 23 June 1979, and not surprisingly, lost 2-1. Nzoia got their goals through a Jimmy Onyango double while Gor Mahia's consolation goal came through George Yoga. However in the return leg at Nairobi's City Stadium on 6 October, George Yoga and Tim Ayieko each scored a double as they beat Nzoia 4-1 on their way to a fourth league title. Since then, the teams have played each other 37 times in the league, with Gor Mahia winning 17 of those matches while Nzoia has won 10 with matched ending in a draw. Gor Mahia has in the process scored 56 goals while conceding 32 goals. The boys from the sugar belt indeed proved a hard nut to crack at home and it was not until 11 June 1988 that a Peter Dawo inspired Gor Mahia got their first away win in Nzoia, courtesy of goals from Peter Dawo and captain Austin Oduor.

While Gor Mahia has a superior record, it has not always been an easy opponent for its strikers. Hesbon Omollo is the leading goal-scorer for Gor Mahia in this fixture with 4 goals with five other players on 3 goals.

Hesbon Omollo (RIP) has scored more goals in this fixture than any other Gor Mahia player

4 Goals  - Hesbon Omollo
3 Goals  - George Yoga
              - John "Zangi" Okello
              - Abass Khamis Magongo
              - Joseph Owino
              - Bramwell Mwololo

No Gor Mahia player has managed a hat-trick against Nzoia while 7 players have managed to score a double against them:

1. George Yoga [22/06/1979 in 4-1 win]
2. Tim Ayieko  [22/06/1979 in 4-1 win]
3. Abbey Nassur [23/05/1981 in 4-1 win]
4. John Okello "Zangi" [06/08/1983 in a 3-0 win]
5. Hesbon Omollo [14/04/1984 in a 4-0 win]
6. Abass Magongo [29/10/1994 in a 2-1 win]
7. Bramwell Mwololo [18/10/1997 in a 2-0 win]

Finally K'Ogalo's biggest score in this fixture is 4-0  in 1984 while their biggest loss margin is 0-2 in 1996 and 2001.