Kerrs dream shattered

It was a weekend to forget for Dylan Kerr as Gor Mahia succumbed to their first defeat in his tenure, losing 1-0 to Mathare United, who completed a remarkable season double over them.

In an exclusive interview with Citizen Digital on Thursday, Englishman Kerr had charged his charges to fight to preserve his unbeaten run but his dream went up in smoke after Mathare United hit them 1-0, completing a remarkable season double over them.

His predecessor Jose Marcelo ‘Ze Maria’ Ferreira had lost three matches before ditching K’Ogalo for Albania’s FK Tirana.

“The league is not won yet, until we win it. We have not lost since I came here because we have enjoyed matches in the philosophy we have been working on and players are hungry for results, not because the league is easy.

“Trophy is the target, but it would be more fascinating to win it with this record (unbeaten run under his tutelage),” Kerr said last week, prior to meeting the ‘Slum Boys’.

However, unbeknown to him, one of Kenya’s most seasoned coaches, Francis Kimanzi, had other plans of spoiling the party.

Solitary goal

On the pitch, the ‘Slum Boys’ knew exactly how to choke Gor,  executing the game plan to perfection by scoring the solitary goal and rallying every weapon in their armory to defend their territory to the last man.

With the inflicted weekend defeat, Kerr will keep his eyes on the vital four points which, if his team earns, they’ll be crowned champions for the 16^th time.

Kimanzi, whose side has been a pale shadow of itself this season, praised his players after the famous win, adding that the victory should spur some confidence ahead of the tough run of matches left.

“We fought hard and our plan worked. Congratulations to the players. We have to build on this win because every match matters to the end of the league,” Kimanzi said.

Meanwhile, it was also an awry outing for free-falling AFC Leopards who once again fell at the Narok Stadium. The big cats were caged 2-0 by Posta Rangers on the same grounds where Sofapaka inflicted them with a dose of similar proportion.

“Most of the players here don’t know what it means to play for Leopards. We simply don’t have a team that can compete as our fans expect. When time comes to execute changes we shall have to do away with a good number of them,” an angry Matano charged after the weekend humiliation.

Relegation

At the same time, the relegation dogfight is taking a toll on Muhoroni Youth who were demolished 4-0 by champions Tusker at the Ruaraka grounds, leaving them four points behind second lowest team, Western Stima.

If the poor run is to be used as a yard stick, then the writing is on the wall for the Awasi based side as the league race enters the penultimate stage.