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The SportPesa Super Cup, the latest lucrative regional football tournament this side of Sahara, proved that Kenya is a powerhouse when it comes to club championship.
Kenyan teams - Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards and Nakuru All Stars - shone at the tournament in a fashion never seen before, edging out seasoned teams like Yanga and Simba FC of Tanzania.
And as the dust settles on the tournament and Gor Mahia draws a map of how to share the Sh3 million jackpot, For the Love of the Game has come up with two conclusions touching on the two Kenyan giant football teams that played in the final.
The first conclusion is that this year’s Kenya’s Premier League title is for Gor Mahia to lose, and second, AFC Leopards is on the life support machine. If all factors remain constant, Ingwe should brace themselves for relegation.
Let me begin by explaining the second point, which is about AFC Leopards. No club in the current league is as annoying and underperforming as Ingwe, as they love to be called.
The leopard is clueless and ‘clawless’, and it cannot purr against its worthy rivals. Was the leopard taken in for manicure and pedicure? Then, where are the damn claws? In fact, one can conclude that them reaching the final of the SportPesa Super Cup after beating Yanga was by fluke.
Like Gor Mahia (K’Ogalo), Yanga is a powerhouse and has a history to boot in the Tanzanian Premier League. That Ingwe managed to shred them is not a small feat and they deserve a pat on the back for that, but the win, it seems was from kicks of a dying horse.
How do you explain the feat of AFC beating Yanga, with all its their pedigree, and falling to Gor Mahia, a team they have played countless times? This must be a case of familiarity breeding contempt.
AFC, it seems, had contempt for Gor Mahia that slammed the door on Nakuru All Stars, a ‘small’ team which plays in the super league, to reach the final.
The result is that they have been miserably beaten at home and abroad in matches ardent fans call Mashemeji Derby.
Ingwe’s consistent loss to K’Ogalo in the so-called derby of the in-laws makes the matches tasteless, uninspiring, and more importantly, not worth looking forward to.
By the way, which fan would want to attend a match where his team is ever beaten three-nil? Even if ‘shienyu ni shienyu (loyalty reigns supreme)’, as they say in Luhyaland.
Truth be told, the team has no depth. Only two or three players look like they deserve to be in the team. To improve the quality of play, the new coach Dorian Marian must overhaul the playing unit. No two ways about it.
Now, let us be serious, and talk about the first conclusion from the Super Cup. The gods say no team will take this season’s premier league title from Gor Mahia.
You see, Gor Mahia have been in very good form this season, thanks to their scoring machines Ugandan Meddie Kagere and George “Blackberry” Odhiambo.
These two have been a thorn in the flesh of their opponents since the start of the league and they are not going to stop until they lift the trophy. Besides, the team’s midfielders, defenders and the goalkeeper are in top form.
And with money currently being no problem for Gor, motivation of players is at its peak, unless AFC Leopards place juju on them.
So, while the league is some months away to be concluded, no team should expect to deny them the trophy. Gor Mahia has taken this thing bwana! Giniwasekao.
