By Samuel Gacharira,
Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani is the place to be this Sunday. The crème de la crème of Kenyan football will face off in a clash that is bound to be explosive or maybe even titanic.2012 champions Tusker will host defending champions Gor Mahia in a tie that has been deemed as a title decider although there are still seven matches to the conclusion of the league.
Gor Mahia leads the log with 42 points having played 21 games while Tusker is third with 40 points after 22 rounds of matches. Sofapaka are two points behind the league leaders but have a superior goal difference than Tusker that puts them at second place. However they have played 23 games so far.
Financial woes and transfers away from the club have taken toll on K`Ogalo. Consequently, they have lost a bulk of the players who formed the core of the team that delivered the KPL title last season.Tusker,on the other hand, have looked steady this season especially with the arrival of Francis Kimanzi as head coach.
Form over the last 5 matches
TEAM
FORM
Gor Mahia
DWDWD
Tusker
DLWDD
The form book does not favor any team but hosts Tusker have performed well against Gor Mahia when playing at home having won the KPL Top 8 first leg 1-0 at home against K`Ogalo in the process dispatching them with a 2-1 aggregate score line enroute to the finals .However, this is a different competition and the dynamics are diverse as well.
The Green army will be hoping that their troops will rise up to the occasion and at least replicate or improve on their first leg 1-0 win at home.
Going into this match, both sides will be looking to use the tie as a springboard to boost their assault on the title.
A win will see K`Ogalo extend their lead on top of the log while a win for Tusker will see them go top of the table. A draw will ensure Sofapaka assume the lead if they win against Nairobi City Stars this Friday.
Newly appointed Scot tactician Frank Nuttal will make his KPL debut in this high profile match. He will lead a new look technical bench from the dugout that sees Tom Ogweno, Jalawi Abondo and Matthew `Ottamax` Owino return to the K`Ogalo bench. He will hope to start his tenure on the right footing and win the trust of the impatient and success parched K`Ogalo faithfuls.
Is it Francis or Frank who will be smiling at the end of the 90 minutes? Catch all the action at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani as from 1500hrs EAT. May the best team win….GAME IBAMBE!!!
