Kenyans set up semi-final date with Al Khartoum
Gor Mahia made hard work of their Cecafa Kagame Cup quarter final match against tournament rank outsiders Malakia before edging into the last four with a nervy 2-1 victory.
A rare brace from Godfrey Walusimbi gave Gor a comfortable 2-0 first half lead over the South Sudanese outfit .
Jacob Thomas’s 64th minute header however made for a grandstand finish. Gor closed the tie and moved into the semis where Sudan’s Al Khartoum home of Teddy Akumu lie in wait after they thrashed APR 4-0 thanks to first half goals from Mohamed Eltayeb (10th minute), Salim Elman (21st,30th) and substitute Sallehidin Bilal (88th).
If Khartoum’s victory was unexpected Gor’s was and it took only two minutes to understand why.
Collins Okoth picked Olunga’s run to the box and the lanky striker sent a timely cross. Though Medie Kagere could not get to it Walusimbi did, delivering a simple tap in past the stranded Kennedy Santolino.
From then on it appeared to be just a matter of time before floodgates opened. This never happened. Olunga rattled the crossbar with a firm header from Abouba Sibomana’s cross.
Malakia’s Kenyan wingbacks David Dada and Wesley Onguso were overwhelmed by the volume of crosses coming from the boots of Karim Nzigiyimana, Walusimbi and Sibomana.
In a rare foray forward Dada sent a cross that Thomas Matthews failed to get on the end off. As the Juba based side began to grow in the game, Onguso whipped in a dangerous cross that Thomas headed goalwards only to be foiled by the upright with Oluoch Boniface well beaten.
That miss was punished a minute later as Nzigiyimana sent in a dangerous cross that was sidefooted into the net by Walusimbi with 28 minutes played.
Gor however failed to take their chances and handed a lifeline to Malakia. In the 64th minute Oluoch came and missed Onguso’s long throw into the box allowing Jacobs to head into an unguarded net and atone for his first half miss. All of a sudden what looked like a dead and buried tie sprung back to life. Olunga rattled the crossbar with thunderbolt shots. Wafula Innocent, who had taken the place of Eric Ochieng, saw his effort veer narrowly off target. George Odhiambo came on for the underwhelming Kagere for the final quarter of the match. Khalid Aucho should have done better than to attempt to lob Santolino when clear on goal.
In the early kick off match, Khartoum National caused a major upset to reach the semi finals, thrashing last year’s losing finalists APR.
Eltayeb Mohammed took advantage of a rash decision to come off his line by Rwandan custodian Jean Claude Ndoli to bundle in the opening goal in the tenth minute after Elman’s ball had been stopped on the line. APR had come into the clash on the back of three group stage victories but when Elman took advantage of another Ndoli misjudgement to score the second goal in the 21st minute and then finished of a good team move with the third goal ten minutes later the Rwandans knew their goose was cooked. Despite several second half chances the best of which fell to Issa Bigirimana and Jean Claude Iranzi, Al Khartoum confirmed APR’s humiliating exit with the fourth goal from substitute Bilal.
