Clinical Gor floor Malakia to set date with Khartoum
Godfrey Walusimbi scored a brace Gor Mahia beat Al Malakia 2-1, setting up a semi-final showdown with Al Khartoum.
Al Khartoum were the first to qualify for the semi-finals after they beat APR of Rwanda 4-0 in an earlier match at the same venue.
Walusimbi pounced in the third and 28th minutes of the match to snuff out Malakia’s campaign.
The South Sudanese team had won the toss to start proceedings but in the third minute, Olunga strolled clear of the opponents’ defence, before extending an inviting cross to Walusimbi who smashed the ball past goalkeeper Kennedy Santolino for the opener.
Malakia survived sure capitulation in the 15th minute when Collins Okoth found himself just in front of goal, but he opted for power and sent the ball flying over the bar.
The South Sudanese team survived yet another fierce attacking effort from Olunga two minutes later when his header crashed against the wood work and bounced out of the field of play.
Walusimbi completed his brace in the 28th minute with an easy tap in from the right wing and the local champions continued to dominate the match for the rest of the first half.
In the second half, K’Ogalo’s chances were few and far apart, with Malakia showing every intention of scoring
They managed to reduce the deficit in the 11th minute when Jacob Thomas timed his jump to head in a throw-in delivered by Kenyan midfielder Wesley Onguso.
Having halved the deficit, Malakia became more intense in their attack and by the 70th minute it appeared Gor were living dangerously judging by the manner Davd Dada and Yengo Ngum penetrated their half of the pitch.
In the other quarter-final, Amin Ibrahim sored a brace to power Al Khartoum into the semifinals of the tournament through a 4-0 win over Rwanda’s APR.
Atif Khalid opened the scoring with a fantastic goal in the ninth minute, before Amin doubled the scores 11 minutes later.
Amin returned in the 39th minute when he calmly sent a nice low shot past the goalkeeper, and team captain Ousman Bilal scored his fourth goal of the tournament in the 81st minute.
This match was touted to be an explosive encounter but the Rwandan side was out of character and put through a sluggish performance against the Kwesi Appiah-coached side.
SOURCE: Daily Nation