Gor Mahia's Cecafa Exit: Fitness Levels and Key Player Absence Cited

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Nyakundi Report

Newsroom 1 min read

Primary source Kenyan Digest archive

This archive report was first published on 17 July 2019.

On July 17, 2019, Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay expressed frustration after his team's Cecafa exit at the hands of Zambia's Green Eagles.

Despite scoring first, the Kenyan champions succumbed to a 2-1 defeat, with Oktay pointing to fitness levels as a contributing factor.

"It (the result) has something to do with our fitness levels," Oktay lamented.

He also cited the absence of key players, including Philemon Otieno and Francis Mustafa, who had been excused from participating in the tournament after featuring at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Zambia.

Substitute Shadrack Mulungwe was the hero for the Zambian side, scoring a stunning solo goal after the restart.

The match began in lackluster form, with Gor Mahia's Nicholas Kipkirui opening the scoring with a clever lob past the advancing goalkeeper Sebastian Mwange.

However, the Zambians soon took control, with Tapson Kaseba equalizing and Amity Shamende scoring the winner after a series of mistakes by the Gor Mahia defense.

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