Gor need best shooting boots for CECAFA Cup semis

Gor Mahia sauntered into the semi finals of the 2015 CECAFA Kagame Cup without breaking too much sweat after beating Malakia of South Sudan 2-1.

The match was more remarkable for the high number of off-sides committed by Gor Mahia and the many scoring chances spurned by the Kenyan champions than anything else.

Perhaps due to the quality of opponent they were facing Gor Mahia appeared contented most of the time to play the game at unharried pace. They even had the generousity to gift Malakia a totally undeserved goal that gave some lustre to an otherwise largely colourless Malakia side. This tie had the markings of a 5-0 whitewash but for Gor's profligacy 

With so many games to play at short intervals, fatigue might be creeping in as the high standards exhibited by Gor at the start of their campaign, against Yanga and KMKM, were replaced in the match by an element of complacency that could have proved costly against a more quality side.

While it is understandable for Gor to have elected to slacken their playing pace against Malakia considering the club'spedigree and the task awaiting ahead, their wastefulness in front of their opponents’ goal is completely inexcusable, considering the extremely high level of efficiency displayed by their opponents for the forthcoming semi-final tie.

Although Gor and Al Khartoum played out a 1-1 draw during their group A match, the circumstances will be totally different in the semis, where a single mistake, like missing one scoring chance, might prove to be the difference between proceeding to the final and proceeding to the airport.

In the semi-finals, Gor must play with the same intensity and commitment as they did in the opening two matches if they  hope to eliminate Al Khartoum. The Kenyan club must have watched as the Sudnese representatives totally tore apart the highly rated APR from Rwanda to entertain any thought of another round of complacency.   

Khartoum National have made a big statement at the 2015 CECAFA Kagame Cup

When Kartoum National Club was paired against APR in the first quarter final of the 2015 CECAFA Kagame Cup being held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, all the money was on APR swiftly sending the newcomers of East African football back home.

Instead,Al Khartoum effectively ended the quarter final contest in the first half after they put three goals past the hapless Rwandese club without reply.

The team adopted a relaxed mode in the second half but still managed to add one more goal for a 4-0 whipping of an experienced APR side that looked totally lost. to put the tie in perspective, APR had won all three of their group matches, scoring five goals and conceding only one.

The Sudanese club only secured a spot at the 2015 CECAFA Kagame Cup after champions El Merreick requested to be excused from the tournament  so that they could concentrate on the CAF Champions League. The club from Khartoum has ended up becoming the highest scorers at this year's tournament so far.

After seeing off Djibouti's Telekom with a 5-0 hammering, Al Khartoum went on to dispatch Zanzibar's KMKM 2-1 before holding fancied Gor Mahia of Kenya 1-1 in a match they could easily have won. The club lost narrowly against Yanga, conceding 0-1 in their final group match. The club's four goals against APR have increased their tally to 12 scored against 3 conceded.

Not only is the club clinical in front of goal, they also play neat, passing and tactical football. Yet this is their first ever appearence at the East and Central African club championships. What might be the secret to the success being enjoyed by the club in Tanzania?

For one, Sudanese clubs are reputed to be some of the wealthiest on the African continent. So money is definitely a factor. But how you spend money when you have it is also crucial. And here the club seems to be doing really well.

The composition of the team has looked solid right from goal to attack, meaning they have recruited quite well. Amongst the squad's foreign players is Kenya's Anthony 'Teddy' Okumu, who has performed quite well in his midfield position so far.

To me, the most brilliant move by the Sudanese club has been hiring Ghanaian Kwesi Appiah, who, lest we forget, took Ghana to the 2014 World Cup and missed the second round by a whisker in a group of death that included World Cup Champions Germany, USA and Portugal.

This is one vastly experienced and skillful coach you do not want to be playing against, and Al Khartoum must be feeling extremely special with the coach in their ranks. When asked about the secret of defeating APR, coach Appiah said that he had asked his charges to utilise the chances they got and to stop APR from playing - and they did exactly that.

Clearly, the story of Khartoum's East African achievements is just starting being told and whoever meets the Sudanese team in the semi-finals had better watch out carefully.  

Where have quality African strikers gone?

Gor against Djibuouti Telekom and Yanga versus Al Khartoum brought the CECAFA Kagame Cup 2015 group stages to conclusion, with Gor (on 10 points) finishing top of group A ahead of Yanga (nine).

One common characteric of the two matches was the wastefulness of Gor's and Yanga's strikers in front of goal. Although Gor beat Telekom 3-1, the score would have been higher with greater efficiency in finishing.

The same was the case with Yanga, who could only manage a 1-0 scoreline against Al Khartoum after the club's forwards squandered many scoring chances.

These performances only served to emphasize one important fact: quality strikers are in deed very valuable persons in the beautiful game. In Africa, especially, they have become very rare species.

This same continent has given to the football world the likes of Zambia's Kalusha Bwalia, Cameroon's Roger Millar and Samuel Etoo, Nigeria's Rashidi Yekini, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha and Daniel Amokachi, Egypt's Hossam Hassan, Ghana's Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah, Liberia's George Weah, Morocco's Mustapha Hadji, Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba, Zimbabwe's Peter Ndlovu, and many others.

The most valued African players in European leagues recently have been midfielders - Yaya Toure, Cheick Tiote, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel...what happened to the African striker species?