Nuttall plotting Leopards assault
Gor Mahia’s head coach Frank Nuttall is relishing the prospects of guiding his team against AFC Leopards on Sunday at the Nyayo National Stadium in what will be his first ‘Mashemeji’ derby.
The fixture will see the riding Gor Mahia, who are currently perched on top of the log, renewing hostilities with their bitter rivals and Nuttall has termed the fixture as ‘special’.
The soft spoken Scottish tactician led Gor Mahia to record extending 14th league title last season although at the time of his arrival at the club there were only a handful of matches remaining to the end of the campaign with the second leg of the derby having been long played.
“It’s going to be a special day of football for both players and fans, because all of them have been looking forward to the match. I’m also looking towards it,” Nuttall said.
“But let’s not forget that it’s just another league match with three points at stake. The points are what both teams will be fighting for.”
The last time the two giants went head-to-head was on July 27 last year at the same venue with the match ending in a 2-2 draw although Leopards claimed the season’s bragging rights for the 3-1 drubbing of Gor Mahia in the first leg encounter.
And while Nuttall will be tasting the derby experience for the first time, his opposite number Zdravko Logarusic is a man who is not only familiar with the fixture but also knows Gor Mahia like the back of his hand.
SIGNING OF THE SEASON
Logarusic, who is the man in charge of Leopards’ bench, led Gor Mahia to a runners up place in during the 2012 season of the Kenyan Premier League before quitting midstream the following season even as Gor went on to clinch the title under Scottish coach Bobby Williamson.
“I’ve been involved in derbies before and this will not be any different. In Kenya it will be my first derby but I’m ready for it. The players are also ready for the match,” Nuttall said adding that they will do a post-mortem of Wednesday night’s 3-1 win over KCB at Nyayo Stadium before laying strategy for the match against Ingwe.
Against Leopards, Nuttall will certainly deploy Rwanda international Meddie Kagere as his pointman upfront. Gifted with an explosive pace and brilliance, Kagere is fast proving to be Gor Mahia’s signing of the season.
During Wednesday night’s match against KCB, Kagere was in his destructive element bagging a brace to cap off a brilliant performance.
His second goal was a beauty that was turned in with great panache. Picking a pin point delivery from the lanky Michael Olunga, the towering centre forward, whose style of play has an uncanny resemblance to that of former Arsenal and Nigerian great Nwankwo Kanu, in a split second weaved his way past his markers before finishing the move with a shot past KCB goalkeeper Zachary Onyango.
The banker scored their consolation goal through Victor Majid sumptuous free kick early in the second half but Innocent Wafula, the man who has been described by Gor Mahia’s deputy coach Frank Ouna as “a player who can win you a match on any day”, quickly responded for Gor Mahia’s third goal.