Tuyisenge, Agwanda sink Tusker as Gor smell Top 8 final

Tuyisenge, Agwanda sink Tusker as Gor smell Top 8 final

First half strikes by Rwanda captain Jacques Tuyisenge and Enock Agwanda handed Gor Mahia a comfortable 2-0 win over league leaders Tusker in a KPL Top 8 semi final first leg clash at Nairobi’s Nyayo Stadium on Sunday.

Tuyisenge, is optimistic the return leg will be an easy outing after K’Ogalo put up a clinical display against the team that is trying to dethrone them from the Top 8 and the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) titles.

“I’m happy for the goal and the win too. It is out of the team work that we are realizing all this. They were the hosts so we hope we will win big at home,” the front-man added.

The win, according to club’s goalkeeper trainer and former Harambee Stars international, Matthew Ottamax, is a big statement of K’Ogalo’s intent ahead of the second leg of the KPL.

“Winning against Tusker means a lot. It is important bearing in mind they were at home. The second leg can only be more exciting,” he told Citizen Digital after the match.

Both sides started on a high note, but it was Gor who threatened first through youth team star, Amos Nondi who drove a low shot inches wide in the sixth minute.

The Top 8 champions then took the lead in the 13th in emphatic fashion with Tuyisenge beating Martin Musalia in the Tusker goal with a thumping finish after shrugging off the attentions of defender Eugine Asike who was desparately trying to stop him from pulling the trigger.

Tusker’s Noah Wafula then sent Collins Shivachi through on goal with a glorious cross into the box, but captain Jerim Onyango who earned a rare start in goal denied the Brewers an equaliser with a fine stop.

Paul Nkata’s side then wasted another glaring opportunity when Osborne Monday threaded a neat pass to Michael Khamati who missed the target with Onyango off his line.

Enock Agwanda then took the game to bed in the 33rd when he rose highest to turn in a corner from Francis Kahata with the Tusker defence leaving him unattended in the box for the goal that brought deafening cheers from the Green Army.

Innocent Wafula should have made 3-0 six minutes later as Gor threatened to run rampant after being set up by Tuyisenge only for the winger to blast his effort wide with Musalia to beat.

Nkata substituted Wafula with Danson Kago who had a difficult outing on the right wing marshalled by Eric ‘Marcelo’ Ouma.

New Gor signing Baron Oketch Jobita was introduced in the 70th replacing Agwanda for his debut and showed flashes of his pace on the flanks as he came close to netting twice within the first five minutes of his introduction.

Tusker’s Louis Khamadi was swapped with Jackson Macharia before Gor withdrew Nondi for Luke Ochieng as the clock ticked towards full time as the champions held on to earn a measure of revenge for their bitter 1-0 loss to the Brewers in the KPL first leg.

From the fracas that saw that game stopped for almost quarter of an hour, Gor were docked three points that saw Tusker end the first leg on top on 29 points, three ahead of the champions who are finding imposing form at the moment.

Tags:

GOR MAHIA Tusker football Enock Agwanda Jacques Tuyisenge Tuyisenge KPL Top 8

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