Alphonce Omija’s stoppage time goal gave Gor Mahia a dramatic 2-1 win over Posta Rangers to take the pressure off head coach Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno.
Alphonce Omija was the hero as Gor Mahia sailed to a 2-1 win over Posta Rangers in a league clash that took place at the Dandora Stadium on Saturday.
Omija’s goal in the dying minutes of stoppage time was a huge relief for Gor Mahia, whose fans had already started baying for head coach Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno’s head had the game ended in a draw.
First half
After what was a frankly dull first 30 minutes, the game sprang to life in the 35th minute, with Gor Mahia creating two good chances both missed by left back Geoffrey ‘Simiti’ Ochieng.
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The fast came after Sharrif Musa did well to receive the ball down the right flank before whipping a cross to Ochieng, but the no-nonsense fullback headed it wide.
The second came a couple of minutes later after a neat exchange of passes involving Rodgers Ouma and debutant Mark Shaban resulted in the ball landing onto the feet of Ochieng, who could not hit the target.
Just before the break, Posta, who had stayed disciplined in a defensive block all afternoon found themselves creating a good chance when Brian Otieno received the ball near the edge of his box and carried it forward, but a lapse in decision making allowed Philemon Otieno to make an excellent recovery tackle to prevent the league strugglers from taking an early lead.
Both sides went into the break tied at 0-0. At the beginning of the second half, Gor Mahia fans nearly suffered a heart-stopping moment when Levis Shivachi blazed the ball over the bar after Dinken Mwema delivered a telling cut-back that caused confusion in the box.
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Second half
From the resulting corner kick, Gor Mahia created a good counter attacking opportunity after Sharrif Musa paced with the ball down the left flank with time and space to deliver a low cross into the box toward Rodgers Ouma, but the former Kariobangi Sharks man fluffed his lines much to the dismay of the attending K’Ogalo faithful.
In the 53rd minute, Gor Mahia created arguably their best opportunity yet when Enock Morrison delivered a left footed shot from just outside the box, which forced Posta keeper Lazarus Otieno into making an excellent save.
Needing to find inspiration, Zico decided to sub Gedeon Bendeka, Chris Akena and Paul Ochuoga for Mark Shaban, Rodgers Ouma and Samuel Kapen respectively in the 63rd minute.
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Gor Mahia finally took the lead in the 73rd minute through Enock Morriso when, after a moment of mix up in the Posta box, the ball ricocheted off the Ghanaian, who found the back of the net to send the Gor Mahia crowd into delirium.
Unfortunately, Akena needed to be subbed off shortly afterwards after picking up an injury, which required him to be subbed off for Alpha Onyango.
Their lead would be short lived, as Posta Rangers equalised thanks to Posta substitute Felix Oluoch after he capitalised on a defensive mistake by Joshua Onyango when he miscontrolled the ball, which allowed Oluoch, on as a substitute, to round Kevin Omondi before nonchalantly finding the back of the net.
Pressure began to build on Zico, with Gor Mahia fans starting to bay for his head in the VIP stand. An unfortunate concussion to Posta keeper Lazarus Otieno led to a six minute delay, which meant Omollo subbed on his substitute goalkeeper Kevin Ouru.
From the resultant restart, Gor Mahia would find the winner through Alphonce Omija, who atoned for his earlier mistake to give them all the three points in the end.
