Highriding Gor Mahia held by SofaPaka

By Fred Maingi in Nairobi
High riding Gor Mahia were held to a barren draw by Sofapaka in a
highly charged Kenya Premier League(KPL) tie staged on the night of Monday August 13 at
the Moi International Sports  centre Kasarani.
    

Despite the draw, Gor deserved  to win the match with a bigger
margin.Sofapaka  custodian Duncan Ochieng who was voted the man of the
match after the final whistle was called on several occasion to  deny
Gor what appeared as  ‘clear goals” after making several daring saves.
   

 Sofapaka dominated large chunks of the first half before they
faded away in the second half. Gor came close to scoring as early as
in the seventh minute when Rama Salim rasping shot was saved by Edgar
Ochieng for a fruitless corner.
  

 Sofapaka replied back two minutes later when towering Humphrey
Mieno freekick was saved off the line by Gor defender Solomon Nasio.In
the 10th minute,it was Sofapaka’s top striker John Barasa’s  turn when
 his firm header from Abdallah Juma’s corner almost hit the crossbar
with Gor custodian Jerim Onyango well beaten.
    

Yet again in the 19th minute, Nasio saved Gor with another perfect
intervention when he stopped Sofapaka’s Joseph Nyaga from bursting
clear to score.
  

Uganda import Dan Sserunkuma almost gave Gor the lead on 22nd minute
but his diving header was saved by Duncan Ochieng in Sofapaka goal.
   

Gor were much in the limelight in the second half after introducing
Edwin Lavatsa, and Itubu Imbem for Rama Salim and Sserunkuma.
  

 Gor Kogalo continued to squeeze Sofapaka diehard’s heart into their
mouth with Lavatsa, Imbem and Kevin Omondi forcing Sofapaka Keeper
(Duncan Ochieng) to make several acrobatic saves that yielded
fruitless corners.
  

Gor fans were however bitter with the match officiating of Fifa
referee David Omweno.They accused him of biased officiating.
  

 From the draw, Sofapaka now moves above Tusker into second spot
with 37 points from 20 games. Gor Mahia on the other hand moves from
sixth to fifth with 33 points. Both have played 20 rounds of games and
all trail AFC Leopards who top the log with 44 points after 21 rounds
of play.
  

Sofapaka coach Salim Ali Salim lauded his defense for keeping at bay
Gor strikers.He said his defenders played a crucial role in the night
by ‘neutralising” Gor pressure.
 

  Gor counterpart  Zdravko Logarusic felt his team deserved to
win the match after squandering over four clear chances. “Some times
you deserve to win but you don't win and sometimes you don't deserve
to win and you win.” Observed Logarusic.