Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr with his assistant Zedekiah Otieno. Photo/RAYMOND MAKHAYA
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 9- Ahead of their tie against Posta Rangers in Kisumu on Friday, Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr says he has wiped off the hangover of their first Kenyan Premier League loss of the season last Tusday to Bandari in Mombasa.
K’Ogalo, hitherto unbeaten before their sojourn to Mombasa, will be taking on the mailmen in their fourth game in 10 days and head coach Kerr wants them to respond to their loss at Bandari with ‘anger’.
“It was a bad day in office and we lost. Players can have a day off because they might be tired, but that’s football. What I am happy about is that we lost but gave absolutely 110 percent. If we lose that way and every players has given their best on the pitch, then I am not sad as a coach,” the tactician noted.
He added; “We conceded two strange goals from set pieces, something that we are very good at defending, but that’s just how this game is sometimes.”
Despite the loss, Gor still enjoy a healthy lead at the top of the standings with an 11 point buffer between them and second placed Bandari FC. They can pull it further to a 14 point gap on Friday with three points against the mailmen.
Gor Mahia’s loss to Bandari was their first this season
“We have to forget about the Bandari match and focus ahead. We have worked on a few things we noticed from the Bandari match. Obviously I can’t do it with the intensity I would want because of our fixture list but hopefully, we will be better,” the tactician noted.
Gor have already played Posta twice this season and beaten them on both occasions, 5-0 in a league fixture on June 26 before beating them 3-1 with a second-string side in their next meeting a month later in the Football Kenya Federation Shield.
Nonetheless, Kerr does not expect it to be an easy outing.
“Definitely they will come in looking for revenge and I know it will not be an easy game. Us losing to bandari definitely has given them some injection of confidence that they can come in and do the same,” Kerr opined.
Gor Mahia players line up before their CAF Confederation Cup Group D match against Tanzania’s Yanga at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani on July 18, 2018. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
With elements of fatigue coming in after playing an average of a game every three days in the middle of travels for the past three weeks, Kerr will look to rotate his squad from the one that played in Mombasa.
Posta who have beaten Gor only once in 12 meetings meanwhile are coming in to the tie on the backdrop of some poor form, having won only twice in the last six matches and are sitting 10th in the standings.
Having finished fourth last season, expectation was for a better performance and pressure will be on head coach Sammy Omollo as another loss will definitely put his position in the club in jeopardy.
