Kogalo Returns to Continental Glory

Kogalo dancing all the way to continental championships

Edwin Lavatsa returned from an epoch of oblivion and scored the only goal as Gor Mahia marked a return to continental soccer with a 1-0 win over defending champions Sofapaka in the FKL Cup.

The 1987 African Cup Winners Cup champions scored the all important goal just after the half hour mark when Sofapaka defender John Njoroge failed to clear a Kevin Ochieng’ pass which fell to teenage sensation Lavatsa who made no mistake slicing the ball past ‘Batoto Ba Mungu’ custodian Duncan Ochieng.

Lavatsa was a constant pain in the Sofapaka defence and could have doubled the lead in the 37^th minute when he found himself on a one on one with Paka keeper but he hit the side netting as the first half ended 1-0 to the 12-time Kenya Premier League winners.

The second half saw the two teams throw punches at each other but the highlight was only Humphrey Mieno’s 74^th minute shot which hit the crossbar as Gor resorted to a defensive win. The final whistle was marked by jubilation from the fans who cheered all the way to the city center and surely into their bedrooms.

K’Ogalo has been posting a string of poor results of late, a scenario which has frustrated the ardent fans who have made a silent protest by not attending some of the club’s matches as was the case when they were pushing for the title.

The win gives Gor Mahia the right to represent the country in the next edition of CAF Confederation Cup. They will however need to do a little better than collapse in the first round of matches like they did in 2009 suffering a 6-0 humiliation at the hands of APR FC from Rwanda.

And That's thesteifmastertake!!