Hitting the Panic Button? Inspiration from 1983

Reading comments by Gor Mahia fans on social media in the wake of 3 successive draws to begin the 2016 season makes can make one believe that all is getting lost as far as defending the title is concerned. This has of course been made worse by the fact that they have only scored one goal so far, and given that the club lost top scorers Michael Olunga and Meddie Kagere, the fans could be right that there might not be sufficient goals in the team to fire them to another title. This is despite bringing in the highly rated Rwandese captain Jacques Tuyisenge and perennial goal scorer Jacob Keli. Tuyisenge is yet to begin a game for the Champions while Keli has not been impressive so far. With this in mind, I decided to go as far back as 1976 to see whether, in the seasons that Gor Mahia has emerged as Champions, they have had a bad start. Can you begin the league with 3 draws (3 points, 1 goal) and win the title?

The list below provides a glimpse of how the title winning sides have previously began their campaigns

(Note prior to 1995, winning teams were awarded 2 points and not 3 hence the need to indicate maximum available points)

Year	First Three results	No of Goals	Point (max in bracket)
1976	Luo Union 1-1(Allan Thigo)	4	5 (6)
	Bata Bullets 1-0 (Allan Thigo)
	Champion 2-1 (Jerry Imbo, Allan Thigo)
1979	Gema 2-1 (??)	6	6 (6)
	Nyanam 3-0 (William “Chege” Ouma (2), Nahashon Oluoch “Lule”)
	Hakati 1-0 (Nahashon Oluoch “Lule”)
1983	Nzoia 1-1 (Hamisi Shamba)	2	1 (6)
	Motcom 0-1
	Kenya Breweries 1-3 (Abdalla Shebe)
1984	Benham 4-1 (George Onyango “Fundi”, Abbey Nassur, William Obwaka, Hesborn Omollo)	8	6 (6)
	Cargo 1-0 (Sammy Onyango “Jogoo”)
	Lake Warriors 3-1 (Hesborn Omollo, Abdalla Shebe, John Okello “Zangi”)
1985	KTM 1-0 (William Obwaka)	7	6 (6)
	Re Union 3-1 (Abass Magongo (2), Ben Oloo
	Kisumu Posta 3-0 (Ben Oloo, George Onyango “Fundi”, Hesborn Omollo)
1987	Hakati 1-0 (Peter Dawo)	5	6 (6)
	Lenana Warriors 2-1 (Peter Dawo, Sammy Onyango “Jogoo”)
	Kahawa United 2-0 (Peter Dawo (2))
1990	Shabana 3-0 (Peter Dawo (2), ??)	7	6 (6)
	Re Union 2-1 (Austin Oduor, Anthony Ndolo)
	Mumias 2-0 (??)
1991	Re Union 1-0 (Francis Kasinde)	2	5 (6)
	AFC Leopards 1-0 (Paul Ochieng)
	Breweries 0-0
1993	Prisons 2-1 (Allan Odhiambo (2))	5	6 (6)
	Kisumu Posta 1-0 (Fred Otieno)
	Mumias 2-0 (Allan Odhiambo)
1995	Re Union 3-0 (Dan Shikanda, Dan Ogada, Eric Obura)	5	7 (9)
	Utalii 1-0 (Tom Ochieng)
	Nzioa Sugar 1-1 (Steve Odiaga)
2013	Sofapaka 1-0 (Paul Kiongera)	2	6 (9)
	Ulinzi 0-2
	Mathare 1-0 (Dan Sserunkuma)
2014	City Stars 2-0 (Dan Sserunkuma, Geoffrey Kizito)	5	9 (9)
	Mathare 1-0 (Dan Sserunkuma)
	Western Stima 2-0 (Dan Sserunkuma, Kevin Omondi)
2015	Mathare 4-2 (Ali Abondo (2), Michael Olunga (2)	9	9 (9)
	Bandari 2-1 (Meddie Kagere, Ali Abondo)
	Chemelil 3-1 (Khalid Aucho, Meddie Kagere, Ali Abondo)

As demonstrated, this team can indeed gain inspiration from the 1983 team which began the season on a sour note ( two loses and one draw) and still went on to win the title! It is worth noting that that team would go on to win 8 of their next games scoring 27 goals including scoring 4 goals in 4 consecutive games. A tall order indeed.

Rwandese Marksman Jacques Tuyisenge. Can he fire K'Ogalo to league glory? (Pic from Soka.co.ke)

PS: Gor Mahia are currently on a 35 game unbeaten streak in the league, being the third longest run behind 47 by the talented mid 80s AFC Leopards team (85-87) and 38 by the same team that went unbeaten in 1988. I will be writing about other Gor Mahia unbeaten streaks next week.   

Olunga - Kagere Partnership - The Best Ever for Gor Mahia?

Well, it is now probably official that Gor Mahia will be without Michael Olunga and Meddie Kagere for the 2016 season and have quickly moved to replace them with Jacob Keli and Rwandese Jacques Tusiyenge. But will the two be missed by the club? Gor Mahia fans tend to live by the slogan “no one is bigger than the club” and always believe replacements are readily available. Sometimes rightly so, like when Olunga replaced Danny, but at times it could be a miss…like the years it took to replace Peter Dawo. Olunga and Kagere scored a whooping 57 goals between in 2015 and I have been wondering how easy it is to replicate that, so I took a step down memory lane to see how lethal other strike partnerships were. Were they for example more prolific than Peter Dawo and Sammy Onyango “Jogoo” in 1987, Gor most successful year to date? Or the partnerships between the legendary goal getter of the 80s Hesbone Omollo and whoever he partnered with during those glory days of the 80s?

In fact they were. Dawo and Jogoo scored 47 goals in all competitions between them (31 goals in the league) in 1987 while Omollo and Hamisi managed 33 in 1983. It is only in the league where Hesbone Omollo / Gedion Hamisi and George Yoga / Nahashon Oluoch partnerships outscored the Olunga and Kagere partnership. The tables below shows just how prolific this combination was.

Year	Partnership	All Competitions
2015	Michael Olunga / Meddie Kagere	57 (29/23)
1987	Peter Dawo / Sammy Onyango	47 (32/15)
1981	Abbey Nassur / Gedion Hamisi	37 (25/12)
1983	Hesbone Omollo / Gedion Hamisi	33 (18/15)

Year	Partnership	League
1979	George Yoga / Nahashon Oluoch	36 (21/15)
1983	Hesbone Omollo / Gedion Hamisi	33 (18/15)
2015	Michael Olunga / Meddie Kagere	32 (19/13)
1987	Peter Dawo / Sammy Onyango	31 (19/12)
1981	Abbey Nassur / Gedion Hamisi	30 (21/9)

*It is worth noting that in 1979 George Yoga “Best” and Nahashon Oluoch Lule scored 38 goals between them but I do not have the full stats of that season and the rest of the 70s yet.

                              

Kagere and Olunga

                                                 

Gedion Hamisi: Formidable partnership with Hesbone Omollo and Abbey Nassur in the early 80s

Olunga in the League

While I still don’t have the complete records from the 70s, it is well understood that Maurice Ouma “Sonyi” is the club’s leading scorer in a league season with 26 goals in 1976. I have therefore attempted to see where Olunga’s 19 league goals would place him with the other illustrious scorers of the 80s and 90s. He ties Peter Dawo’s 19 league goals in 1987 but apart from Sonyi, who else is up there with him? The following table illustrates.

No of Goals	Player	Year
21	Abbey Nassur	1981
21	George Yoga	1979
19	Michael Olunga	2015
19	Peter Dawo	1987
18	Hesbone Omollo	1983

It is thus safe to say that the club will surely miss the Olunga - Kagere partnership. Hopefully a successful season from Keli, Tuyisenge, Agwanda, George Odhiambo or whoever else will lead the hunt for goals will make the K'Ogalo faithful forget the two.  

Pictures: Olunga and Kagere - Official Gor Mahia Website

Gedion Hamisi - Daily Nation

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)

Gor's Sea Side Travails

Playing Bandari away has always been a difficult fixture for Gor Mahia. In 5 meetings between 2008 and 2014, we have only won 1 game and lost 4, courtesy of a David Owino header in 2013. In those games we have only scored 3 goals, 1 of them being an own goal last year. Apart from David Owino, only Peter Opiyo "Pinchez" has scored for Gor Mahia against the Dockers in Mombasa. That was way back in 2009.

Of the clubs we have played against more than 10 times in the league, it is the one we have amassed the least number of points against. None of our players has ever scored more than one goal against Bandari since 2008, all the 9 goals we have scored against them coming via 8 different players (Meddie, Abondo, Calabar, Blackberry, Macheda, Pinchez and Awilo). Of the clubs we have played atleast 10 or more games against in the league, they are the ones we have scored the least goals against. Forget about the likes of Tusker and Ingwe, of the current teams in the league, Bandari is our nemesis. One would therefore be forgiven for going into this game with much trepidation.

Past encounter against Bandari in Mombasa 

But this is a record breaking and recording chasing Gor Mahia team that has dominated all teams locally this year. Coming off the disappointment of not out-rightly winning against the eternal enemy last weekend, a game that was abandoned thanks to hooligans from our shemejis homes, K'ogalo will be hoping to not only preserve their unbeaten status but also to ensure no team wins any bragging right over them this season. A win will put us on the brink of defending the championship with five games to go (if we avoid defeat against Ulinzi in the next game). And while a draw or even a defeat will not take away our chances of defending the title, the players will know that it is a matter of pride. And what better way there is to relax at the coast than winning. 

Prediction: 1-0 to Gor Mahia. Meddie Kagere

See full stats against Bandari FC HERE

Picture courtesy of gormahia.net

K’Ogalo To Rob Bankers - They Always Do

K’Ogalo resumes league duties this Sunday against KCB after a successful CECAFA Cup outing. Six points ahead of second placed Ulinzi and with 3 games in hand, Gor Mahia are perfectly placed for a third successive league title, their first 3 successive league titles since the 1983-85 seasons and 15^th overall. The only other teams to have achieved this feat are AFC Leopards (1980-82) and Ulinzi Stars (2003-05). Before celebrating that feat however, we have to dispose what is before us and that’s KCB.

Games against KCB have always been an interesting affair with plenty of goals though last season they did hold Gor to a 0-0 draw but one can argue Frank Nuttal was just getting used to the team. Since 2008, we have played KCB 15 times winning 8 and only losing 4. Three of those losses were in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and the fourth loss was after securing the title in 2013. In the process Gor Mahia has scored 22 goals but also conceded 16 – this points to a possibly a high scoring game this Sunday. Below is  a table on our record against KCB since 2008.

Games	Wins	Draws	Loss	GF	GA	G Diff	Points	Av Pt/G %	% wins
15	8	3	4	22	16	6	27	1.8	53.3

Check out detailed stats against KCB HERE

This season Meddie Kagere has already scored twice but it is worth noting that Rama Salim scored an incredible 7 times against KCB in 3 seasons (two of which he only played for half the season) that included a hatrick and double. Gor Mahia defenders have also always found the back of the net against KCB with a remarkable 6 defenders (including goalkeeper George Odhiambo) finding the back of the net out of the 14 players that have scored against KCB since 2008.

He was the scourge of KCB

Prediction: 3-1 to Gor Mahia with one of its strikers to bag a double

Interesting Fact: Should Olunga score a hatrick he will become the second player after Danny Sserunkuma to score 20 goals (in all competitions) in a season for Gor Mahia since 2008. So far he has scored 12 league goals and 5 in CECAFA Cup for a total of 17 goals. 

Photo courtesy of Supersport.com