- AFC leopards played to a 0-0 draw with Gor Mahia
- They have not beaten Gor since 2016
- They have not scored against Gor over the last six meetings
AFC Leopards’ wait for a victory over arch rivals Gor Mahia continued as they were held to a 0-0 draw in the Mashemeji Derby at the Nyayo National Stadium. AFC had the better chances to score but couldn’t convert, going for a sixth match without scoring against their bitter rivals.
Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems was dejected that his side couldn’t get a goal in the match especially noting at how they dominated the match.
“We tried to play football and we did that well today. It is a point but I think we should have done better. We had the chances to score but again we could not convert. I think that is a problem that we need to address,” said the coach.
He added; “But I am happy with the attitude and fighting spirit shown by the players. We played a very tough game on Wednesday and still managed a good performance in a tough match like the derby just three days later.”
His opposite number, Gor Mahia’s Jonathan McKinstry was pleased with the point. “It is not an expectation that we should win every game. Sometimes we face tough matches where a point is equally important. This was one of those games and I am happy with how we played. We just need to build on from here.”
Tightly contested first half
The first half was tightly contested in the middle of the pack and the chances weren’t as many. Gor had two opportunities, former Leopards midfielder Austin Odhiambo trying his luck with shots from range but both flew over.
Leopards had to wait till the final five minutes of the match to show their offensive qualities, and it took goalkeeper Gad Mathews to be astute between the sticks to keep them at bay.
In the 42nd minute, Leopards broke on the counter with Cliff Nyakeya putting Victor Omune through, the latter slapping a cross into the area but Ojo Olaniyi’s target was tame and straight to keeper Gad Mathews’ arms.
Two minutes later, he had another effort on target when he connected to a Nyakeya delivery from a freekick, but once again he couldn’t land power on his shot as the effort was easily saved by the keeper.
Nyakeya come close for Leopards
At the stroke of halftime, Nyakeya had another effort when he won the ball on the left after Paul Ochuoga’s poor clearance.
In the second half, Gor were the first to make changes, Alpha Onyango coming in for Sydney Ochieng who looked to have been struggling with injury.
Leopards also made changes with Giovanni Lukhumwa and Saad Musa coming in to strengthen the midfield.
Musa had a chance to score barely seconds after coming on, but his shot from distance with keeper Mathews a yard off his line flying inches wide. On the other end, Alpha also tried a similar effort for Gor but it flew wide as well.
The two sides tried to dip in to offensive switches in the final quarter of an hour, but none could get goals to change the face of the game.
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