Gor edge out Tusker but brewers fume at ‘suspect’ officiating

• Gor Mahia beat the defending champions 2-1 at Kasarani
• Tusker were left fuming at the manner in which they conceded both goals
• Gor moved to second in the standings after the win

Record Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia beat holders Tusker FC 2-1 at the Kasarani Stadium, but the brewers were left raging after refereeing decisions saw them suffer their third defeat of the season.

The stoppage in play leading to Gor Mahia’s first goal was of huge contention while the late penalty dished out to K’Ogalo also was reputed.

“It is very unfortunate what has happened today. The players have done really well and played well in this game, but we have lost not because Gor Mahia beat us but because of the referee. The decisions he made clearly showed that he came in here with a fixed mind and it is sad for our football,” Tusker’s coach Robert Matano lamented.

Gor broke the deadlock after 31 minutes when Sydney Ochieng slammed the ball into net from a quickly started Austin Odhiambo looped ball.

But, the bone of contention from the goal was that the referee stopped play without a foul to book skipper Humphrey Mieno who was complaining of an unpunished foul on Deogratious Ojok.

Referee give ghost freekick 

Tusker’s Deo Ojok battles for the ball with Gor Mahia’s Dennis Ng’ang’a

Instead of the referee restarting play with a drop ball, he gave Gor a freekick, from where Odhiambo looped the ball for the opening goal.

The opening half was devoid of chances with both teams struggling to open up in attack. Tusker’s closest chance had come off Charles Momanyi who headed over from close range off a Mieno floated ball from a freekick.

Before the break, Tusker were dealt a blow with skipper Mieno limping off after pulling his hamstring and was replaced by Shaphan Oyugi.

At the start of the second half, trailing 1-0, Tusker made offensive changes. Jackson Macharia, Ibrahim Joshua and Eric Zakayo were introduced for Ojok, David Majak and Eric Mmata who had struggled to make any offensive impact.

Brewers look better in second half 

The brewers looked better going forward and had a chance four minutes after the restart when Shami Kibwana drifted to the edge of the box from the left, but his well struck shot was inches wide.

He however levelled just three minutes later when he curled home from a freekick off the edge of the box after Rodgers Ouma was fouled at the edge of the area.

Tusker piled pressure on Gor, playing well from the back and building up play, but couldn’t crack the K’Ogalo backline.

With six minutes left to play, they were once again trailing after the referee’s shadow following a controversial penalty. Tom Teka handled the ball as he tried to defend a cross from Boniface Omondi and the ref pointed straight to the spot, despite the incident happening at the edge of the box.

Despite protests, Benson Omalla stepped forward to convert, scoring his 12^th goal of the season. Tusker tried to stage a late fightback with Macharia firing a volley inches over from the edge of the box, before Joshua had a shot from the edge of the area blocked.