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Gor Mahia players return with heads held high after Cecafa show


Gor Mahia head coach Frank Nuttall on Monday said proper recruitment during the January transfer window and good management of his charges was the secret behind their impressive performance in the just concluded Cecafa Club Championship where they finished as runners up.

K`Ogalo performed beyond expectations in the elite regional club championship navigating their way to the final where they lost 2-0 to Tanzanian club Azam.

And briefing reporters at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport upon their return Monday, the Scot said that his boys gave “absolutely everything”, but was quick to point out that they were disappointed not to bring the trophy home.

DISAPPOINTED WITH LOSS

“I’m disappointed that we did not win but pleased with the effort of the players, the staff and the management of the club. The success we had is because everyone played their part,” he said.

He went on.”We managed how we used the squad to avoid burn out and ensure that the players were fresh. We also did analysis of all the teams and it’s just unfortunate that we did not bring the trophy home.”

The soft spoken tactician has so far guided the club to an impressive 25 match unbeaten run in the local league.

Nuttall also called on corporates to come on board and sponsor the team.

“If there is any sponsor out there, they should come and sponsor the team to help us move forward,”he said.

The flight carrying the team touched down at 4.05pm Monday ,40 minutes behind schedule and they got a warm welcome from a handful of their fans who had gathered at the arrival terminal led by Jared Otieno aka “Jaro Soja”.

FIVE-GOAL TARGET

Striker Michael Olunga, who bagged the Golden Boot after scoring with five goals in the tournament said;” My target was to score five goals and anything above that would have been a bonus, so I’m glad that I attained my target.”

The lanky striker, whose impressive performances has seen him attract interest from several clubs among them Azam, also took time to hail his coach Nuttall, for building a solid team.

“The coach instilled discipline and brought a lot of unity in the squad. He was the unifying factor,” he said.

Custodian Boniface Oluoch made a joke of his heroics that saw him claim the Golden Glove award.

“I’m shocked to have been picked as keeper of the tournament,” he said adding, that he never expected Azam`s second goal to find the target as he had adjudged it to head off the mark.

Gor will now shift focus to it’s league title defence beginning this weekend.