By Austin Oduor Otieno,
It has been exactly 30 years since the Mighty Gor Mahia last lifted the Cecafa Club Champions .1985 to be precise was the year Gor Mahia shocked the entire country when they beat arch rivals AFC Leopards 2-0 in an all Kenyan final.
Gor Mahia started the campaign as underdogs with media coverage by then giving them a slim chance of progressing.
They were pooled in Group A alongside Simba of Tanzania,Malawi’s Limbe Leaf,Nakibubo Villa of Uganda and Al Hilal of Sudan.
Just like this year,Gor were pooled in Group A alongside Tanzanian and Sudanese opposition.
Gor held both Simba and Nakivubo Villa with identical 1-1 scoreline before crushing Limbe Leaf and Al Hilal 3-0 and 3-1 respectively.They topped the group with 8 points ahead of second placed Simba who had 5 same as Limbe leaf.
Gor went on to beat another Sudanese side Al Mereikh 2-1 to send shock waves to other teams that they are no longer underdogs but a serious team
Considering that this was a depleted team as 6 of their players had been suspended by CAF after the Cairo incidence where trouble broke out when the team played Zamalek at the Nasser Stadium with the referee awarding Zamalek a controversial penalty and sending Abbas Magongo.
Despite the set back Coach Lens Julians who did not accompany Gor to the cecafa gave his blessings to Maurice Ochieng ‘Sonyi’ who was the interim coach.
A ridiculous cartoon in one of the leading dailies depicted Gor players returning home in a soda crate from Sudan.
We have to admit that the new players who were drafted in to replace the suspended six worked extra hard to help the green army lift the title.Players like George Nyangi ‘Artillery’ William Obwaka now a consultant Gynaecologist and Swaleh Ochieng among others were ourstanding.
After topping the group,Gor silenced Al Mereikh 2-1 to set a final date with Kenyan side AFC leopards.
William Obwaka,a new signing and younger brother of then regular Enock Obwaka scored in the 35th and 89th minutes to silence the Leopards in what was and is still referred to as the KHARTOUM 1985.
Gor had now beaten Leopards 2-0 for the third time in five years.Gor also went on to lift the Kenyan league.
Gor Mahia players poured into the streets of Nairobi to celebrate the famous win and when the team jetted back,it was all song and dance at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
With the current squad similar to the 1985 squad,Gor Mahia has what it takes to repeat the 1985 fete.Ass coach John Bobby Ogolla was part of the team that won the 1985 edition and 15 years later he is on the technical bench giving instructions.
The Final Match of this 41st edition kicks off at 4pm.EAT live on supersport.
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