NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 8 – An estimated 5,000 fans were in attendance on Tuesday night as Kenya’s reigning league champions Gor Mahia took on Everton FC at Goodison Park in Liverpool, United Kingdom.
The fans, a good percentage of which were Kenyan and others of African descent were left praising Gor’s attitude despite their 4-0 humbling, saying their experience was worth the long trip.
“The team played very well but they need to make better choices with the passes they make. If they keep playing the way they do, and work more on their final passes, I think they have a chance of being a very good team,” one of the Everton fans named Jack told Capital Sport.
Former Tusker FC and KCB midfielder David Etale, a former British soldier now living in the United Kingdom was very pleased to see Gor come to England and get some invaluable experience and he noted they will get back home a better team.
“Gor played very well and I am happy to have been here to witness and seeing my former team-mates like Boniface Oluoch,”
“As a former player this is a good experience for them to see the kind of level here. They have experienced a different culture and leave here with big memories to share with people back home,” Etale told Capital Sport.
He added; “This is a chance we couldn’t get as players back in our days and seeing them here is so much joy. They have taken their chance and I hope they don’t go back home without lessons.”
Apart from Kenyans, there were other Africans as well cheering on Gor and they were equally happy, though some were not too pleased that they lost with such a huge margin.
“We are here to support our fellow black boys and they did very well. The first goalkeeper wasn’t really very good but the second one was better. But the number 6 (Shafik Batambuze) and the big midfielder (Ernest Wendo) were the best for me. The number six especially, that boy is good. I enjoyed his game,” a fan from Zimbabwe said.
Another from Uganda added; “I was happy to see a Kenya team here because they are our neighbors and I love Kenya.”
Another Ugandan fan, identified as Frank was also pleased with the performance of the team and his fellow countryman Batambuze’s who he tipped to get into the Uganda Cranes starting team.
“I think considering Everton put up a good line up, the Kenyans did really well. The boys were not kind of used to the ground, the touch of the grass, other than that we did really well. If he (Batambuze) keeps pushing that line, he will become a really good footballer,” he added.