Gor Mahia beat Yanga 3-2 in the Caf Confederation Cup Group D match at National Stadium, Dar Es Salaam Sunday to move closer to a historic quarter-finals berth.
George “Blackberry” Odhiambo, Jacques Tuyisenge and skipper Harun Shakava were on the mark for K’Ogalo in the match they bossed from start to finish.
Deus Kaseke and Raphael Loth gave some hope to the home crowd with opportunistic strikes but it was not enough to deny Gor their first win on the road after winning the first leg 4-0 in Nairobi two weeks ago.
Gor are now top of the group on eight points same as Algeria’s USM Alger, who were held at home 1-1 by Rwanda’s Rayon Sports in the other fixture of the day.
Odhiambo scored arguably the fastest goal of the tournament in this campaign with just 36 seconds on the clock, burying a diving header off Samuel Onyango’s right cross.
Buoyed by the goal, the coach Dylan Kerr’s side settled well, dictating pace and enjoying massive possession leaving the Jangwani boys to chase shadows.
Rwandan forward, Tuyisenge, who was recently named the Kenyan Premier League player of the month for June, doubled the lead with a well-crafted free-kick from inside the box after Yanga’s keeper Youthe Jehu handled the ball twice in his area.
Veteran Deus Kaseke pulled one back for the hosts in the 59th after keeper Boniface Oluoch spilled a shot back into play but, captain Shakava restored the two goal cushion, tapping home a loose ball from a corner kick in the 63rd minute.
Another of Oluoch’s haulers gifted Yanga the second in the 81st minute with Raphael Loth scoring through his legs from another spillage but Gor held on to complete the double.
Kerr believes they could have scored more goals, however, he is happy with the three points.
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“This is a game we could have scored seven goals in the first half if it wasn’t for missed chances.
I am proud of the team for collecting the three points because this puts us in a healthy position in the competition,” the Englishman said.
A point against Rayon Sports in their next outing will see them become the first Kenyan side to reach the quarter-finals of the continental championship.
Yanga’s assistant coach Noel Mwandila opines conceding early “disturbed our entire game plan.”
“We lost this game from the beginning because we conceded the first goal too early which made us to start playing under pressure. This disturbed our game plan,” Noel said.
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