Gor Mahia FC head coach Dylan Kerr is proud of his charges after the win over Tanzanian side Yanga FC even though he feels they should have won the game by a bigger margin.
George Odhiambo, Jacques Tuyisenge and Harun Shakava were on target as the Kenyan giants beat Yanga 3-2 in the CAF Confederations Cup Group D match staged in Dar es Salaam on Sunday 29 July.
The win sent Gor Mahia top of the group as they have a superior goal difference compared USM Alger, who have also amassed eight points from four matches played so far.
Kerr is happy to have bagged maximum points in Dar as it puts them in a better position in the group but admits his side wasted chances to score up to seven goals in the opening half.
“This is a game we could have scored 7 goals in the first half if it wasn’t for missed chances. I am proud of the team for collecting the 3 points because this puts us in a healthy position in the competition” he said.
Gor Mahia will be keen to seal a quarter final spot when they host Rwandan side Rayon Sport in their next fixture in Nairobi. The side needs a win or a draw to reach the quarters.
Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier has said that the tight schedule in store will have huge effects on the club.
The month of August will be a squeezed one for Gor Mahia as there are a total of ten(10) matches lined up in just a space of 28 days – two of which are continental matches.
To kick off the busy month, Gor Mahia will be hosting Kariobangi Shakrs in a league match in Kisumu on Wednesday. The match is coming just two days after the league leaders were involved in a continental assignment in Tanzania where they convincingly beat Young Africans 3-2 in a Group D Caf Confederation match.
Rachier said that they understand the reason for the tight fixtures but he indicated two elements that will most likely come out of it – injuries and financial burden.
“We truly understand the reason behind the crowded fixtures for the month of August… As per Caf requirement, the local league must end by October 7th and so, quite a number of matches must be played before or by then to comply with the new universal plan that is to kick off in December.”
“As a result of trying to get those matches played in good time, we are at a risk of getting more injuries, players will be over stretched and will not have enough time to recover say from fatigue or injuries. We already have some injuries,’’ the chairman told the official Gor Mahia website.
Adding to chairman’s comment, club’s CEO Lordvick Aduda said that it’s their hope no setbacks will be experienced in the tight month. “We for sure have many matches lined up and to beat the Caf deadline date of submitting names of Champions by end of October, we have no excuse but to play all those matches. We just hope we will not get injuries along the way and the head coach will be able to use the available players to achieve the best,” said Aduda.
Not injuries alone are a worry to chairman Rachier, the financial bit that will go into planning and navigating through the tight August fixtures was clearly outlined.
“Honouring matches comes with a huge cost. It’s not always easy to go about fixtures more-so when we have to move from town to town like we will be doing in this coming month. It’s so expensive and it will be a big burden to club. It’s inevitable and we hope we will pull it through because again, other than just honouring matches, we want good results and that can only come when players are comfortable and are in the right condition which takes us back to finances,” he added.
August schedule:
1st August – Gor Mahia v K. Sharks – Kisumu
4th August – Nakumatt v Gor Mahia – Machakos
7th August – Bandari v Gor Mahia – Mombasa
10th August – Rangers v Gor Mahia – Narok
13th August – Gor v Homeboyz – Machakos
16th August – Gor Mahia v Chemelil – Machakos
19th August – Gor Mahia v Rayon – Kasarani
22nd August – Sofapaka v Gor Mahia – Narok
25th August – Gor Mahia v Leopards – Kasarani
29th August – USMA v Gor Mahia – Algeria