Gor Mahia FC have finally been crown 2013 Tusker Premier League Champions, and what a way to win it - beating their only remaining challengers Sofapaka. Actually, it was only a matter of when, not if, they were going to wrap the championship up.
As I observed elsewhere, the newly crowned TPL champions, the only regional club to win a continental trophy (although that was way back in 1987), should have won the TPL three times already. In 2011 and 2012, they were the most consistent and enterprising team but nerves denied them. This time round, the recruitment of an experienced and tactically astute Coach Bobby Williamson meant they finished the season strongly.
This triumph should only be seen as only a beginning- the club should not relax yet since a bigger challenge awaits them. Never has a Kenyan club qualified for the CAF Champions League group phase. Year in - year out, the story has been of Kenyan clubs being whipping boys in continental football, especially against North African opposition. Can Gor Mahia end this trend?
If the club retains the services of Coach Williamson and strengthens their squad, they stand some chance. One area they should really work on is the strike force. It is like there is no new striker ever going to be born in Kenya again. More than ten years since the emergence of Dennis Oliech, no other striker has happened on the country's football stage with credentials that can send shivers down the spine of any defender.
If Gor Mahia cannot find such a player in Kenya, they should go shopping in West Africa. After all, Sudanese clubs El Hilal and El Merreikh recruited decent strikers from Nigeria, who helped them to enjoy some spells of continental success.
Meanwhile, the Mashemeji derby is on. Who will carry the day? bring it on!
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