My goal was as a result of sheer luck, says Gor goalie Mapigano

The weekend Kenyan Premier League action yielded 19 goals but it is the ninth minute goal by Gor Mahia custodian David Mapigano in their 3-0 win over coastal side Bandari in Nakuru that hogged the limelight.

The Tanzanian import scored while restarting play from the edge of the box after a free kick awarded following an offside call against Bandari.

And unknown to Mapigano, his long range shot which bounced over Bandari keeper Ivan Ndikumana who was a few metres off his line ended up in the Dockers goal, handing Gor the opener.

It was simple, easy and precise leaving the fans who had turned up to watch the game in fits of laughter.

And in revisiting the weekend developments, the towering Tanzanian shot stopper attributed his goal to “sheer luck” but not black magic after picking his Bandari counterpart out of the line.

‘”I saw the Bandari Keeper advancing into the pitch and I felt I had the power. I decided to try a long shot and I thank Gor it ended up in the net,” said Mapigano.

Gor’s opener their left Bandari’s Burundian goalie, Ndikumana, on the receiving end, with coastal fans jeering him over the blunder. Mapigano however says goalkeepers must be alert  every time and put a lot of concentration on the movement of the ball.

And so it seemed that it was Mapigano’s lucky day out as he went on to save a penalty, late, late in the game to deny the visitors what would have been a consolation.

The defeat turned out to be a bitter welcome for Twahir Muhidin who is handling the Dockers on interim basis following the sacking of Bernard Mwalala on January 12 over a string of poor results.

‘’The penalty save was not by luck. I do a lot of training by reading penalty takers’ psychology and from his standing position I actually knew where he was going to kick the ball. That is how I ended up with the save,’’ he said of the block that denied Wilberforce Lugogo.

This is the second time Bandari have failed to convert a penalty in the hands of Gor this season with Boniface Oluoch saving from William Wardri in their first meeting on November 24 2019, a contest that ended 2-0 in favour of Gor at the Mbaraki Sports Club.

From Saturday’s results, Gor have this season collected maximum points from Bandari and scored five goals against their last season’s runners up. Prior to the game, Twahir was full of hopes saying they were ready for the record champions who lost two strikers mid season to foreign teams.

The Tanzanian player said he will dedicate his all to the club despite the monetary problems facing the record KPL champions.

Gor Mahia play Sofapaka next in a mid-week fixture on Wednesday January 29 at Moi Stadium in Kisumu. They sit second on the log on 38 points behind Kakamega Homeboyz who leapt to the summit of the log after a 2-1 thumping of Kariobangi Sharks to record 39 points.

 

 

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GOR MAHIA Bandari David Mapigano goal

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