Nairobi News

SportsWhat's Hot

Gor take a slim lead against Bitam

By NAIROBI NEWS February 9th, 2014 1 min read

Gor Mahia left themselves with a lot of work to do after battling to edge out Gabonese side US Bitam 1-0 in their African Champions League preliminary round, first leg match at Nyayo Stadium on Saturday.

The all important goal came in the 75 minute via a penalty by Dan Sserunkuma after a Bitam defender had handled the ball in the box.

Bitam goalkeeper Yves Stephane Bitseki was sent off midway through the second half after he deliberately handled the ball inside the box midway through the second half but Gor struggled to break down the visitor’s defence.

Gor now carry a slim lead to their second leg encounter in Gabon next weekend.

Bitam coach Francois Oman-Biyik expressed satisfaction with the result saying his side would overturn the 1-0 deficit.

Coach Bobby Williamson unleashed a deadly arsenal spearheaded by a three-pronged attack of John ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo, Rama Salim and Sserunkuma.

Gor Mahia was clearly the dominant side in the match but they were frustrated for prolonged spells by the visiting team’s defensive tactics.

The visitors were largely content with employing a simple yet effective formation that had virtually all 10 outfield players behind the ball whenever Gor Mahia had the possession.

Their only clear chance came at the tail end of the first half when Junior Aubyang forced Gor Mahia goalkeeper Jerim Onyango into a fine save with a pin point header.

But Gor Mahia were also guilty of not translating their dominance into goals and were effectively shut out until Sserunkuma struck.