Gor Mahia are through to the quarter-finals of the CECAFA Kagame Cup following a 2-0 win over AS Ports of Djibouti in their last Group B fixture played at National Stadium, Dar on Thursday.
Two goals from midfielder Philemon Otieno and defender Charles Momanyi in the first half sealed the victory and a spot in the round of eight.
K’Ogalo, who had drawn their past two matches of the group against Rwanda’s Rayon Sports and Lydia Ludic Academic of Burundi finish second in the group behind Rayon and will face Tanzania’s Azam FC in the quarters on Sunday.
Heading into the crunch tie, Gor, who were under pressure to progress, tinkered a bit with the starting line up with coach Dylan Kerr dropping Francis Kahata, George Odhiambo and Joash Onyango from the previous starting eleven for Benard Ondiek, Momanyi and Philemon.
Despite a slow start, the game picked pace and Gor, who enjoyed early possession, took the lead through Philemon in the 13th Minute.
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The former Ushuru FC midfielder tapped home Innocent Wafula’s cut back from the right for his second goal in two matches.
Momanyi doubled the score on the stroke of halftime – heading in a freely off Godfrey Walusimbi’s corner kick for a comfortable 2-0 half time lead.
The second half was no different as Gor, who have been grappling with low morale in camp due to unpaid allowances, continued to dominate play despite failing to add more goals.
Kahata’s absence from today’s team sheet is expected to raise more speculations over claims that the former Thika United man intentionally gave a blind pass which led to Lydia taking an early lead on Tuesday in the 2-2 draw.
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