Charged Gor power past Ulinzi, go nine-points clear

Gor Mahia FC racked up their 13th Kenyan Premier League (KPL) win with a 2-0 victory over Ulinzi Stars at Afraha Stadium as they hit an astonishing 43-point haul for the half-season.

Francis Kahata and Jacques Tuyisenge were on target either half of the match as the champions, who still have three games in hand, opened a nine-point lead at the summit of the KPL.

Coach Dylan Kerr had feared Gor would be unable to match Ulinzi’s energy levels due to their mid-week involvement in the Shield competition but their performance on the pitch was anything but.

The match got off to a lively start with Ulinzi showing early desire to have a go at the visitors and their boldness almost paid off inside just five minutes.

Bernard Ongoma intercepted a loose ball from Philemon Otieno and teed up Masita Masuta with a splitting pass to leave him with only Joash Onyango to beat and put himself clear.

The striker chose to cut back in and lay it off for the on-rushing Daniel Waweru but the midfielder’s one-time strike was mishit and it rolled inches off Boniface Oluoch’s backpost.

Gor’s response to that threat was emphatic, taking the lead against the run of play as Kahata tapped in the opener after George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo had laid it on a plate for him with a neat cut-back.

Ernest Wendo should have doubled his side’s advantage but he hesitated with his shot and could only fire against a wall of Ulinzi players after Meddie Kagere had done well to hold off his man and put him through.

Masita Masuta then beat Onyango with an exquisite turn but the defender recovered in time to make the block just as the former Nzoia Sugar marksman set out to pull the trigger.

Kahata’s delightful flick on the other end set Otieno free on the right wing but the defensive midfielder, who started at right back again, saw his cross headed out for corner by Mohammed Hassan.

Ulinzi were visibly the stronger side at the restart, with Gor surviving a four-minute blitz in which the hosts were denied by the post and a last-ditch clearance from Otieno as the clock hit the half-hour mark.

Oluoch had mistimed a run off his lines, allowing Hassan to dink the ball over him but it failed to dip in time and could only hit bar with Harun Shakava on hand to head clear the rebound.

Masuta came knocking again and this time almost made his chance from a goal-mouth scramble count only for Otieno to pop up and hack clear his effort with Oluoch nowhere near his post.

Substitutes Boniface Omondi and Lawrence Juma made their impact felt minutes after coming, combining well to set Tuyisenge clear but Jacktone Odhiambo rushed off his lines to beat out his effort from a tight angle.

There was no denying the Rwandese in the 87th as he rolled home the Goe’s second and his eighth strike of the season after keeper Odhiambo had pushed the ball into his path from an attempted save.