Otieno: Gor Mahia disappointed to lose league title

Dennis Mabuka

Gor Mahia head coach Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno has come out to speak for the first time after the Kenyan giants failed in their bid to clinch the 2024/25 Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League title after they were dethroned by Kenya Police FC.

The record champions, with 21 league titles to their name, were going for a third consecutive crown, having been crowned winners of the previous two seasons. However, it was Police who wrote history, after winning their first-ever title with a game to spare.

Needing a point from their second-to-last game of the season against Shabana to secure the title, Police, instead, secured a 1-0 win to reach an unassailable 64 and bring to an end Gor Mahia’s dominance in the top-flight. They won the title after registering 18 wins, 10 draws and suffering five defeats.

K’Ogalo’s season was full of ups and downs, and their intentions to retain the title looked shaky from the opening day of the season. K’Ogalo registered a mixed bag of results, which resulted in the sacking of Brazilian coach Leonardo Martins Neiva after only six league matches.

Gor Mahia had kicked off the season with a 4-0 win against Mathare United, hammered Posta Rangers 3-0, drew 0-0 against KCB, before losing their first game of the season 2-1 against Nairobi City Stars. The defeat against Simba in Nairobi was followed up with a 2-2 draw against Murang’a Seal before they lost 2-0 against Bandari FC.

The defeat against the Dockers was the last straw for Martins Neiva, as he was replaced by Otieno and Michael Nam, but on an interim basis.

The top of the Premier League standingsFlashscore

By the time Police were being crowned, Gor Mahia had amassed 58 points, which was six fewer than the new sheriffs in town. They had registered 16 wins, 10 draws and suffered seven defeats. Last season, when they beat Tusker to the title with 73 points, Gor Mahia only lost three matches.

Gor Mahia sad they 'couldn’t achieve objective’

According to the former Harambee Stars defender, K’Ogalo’s title aspirations may have been hampered by the fact that they got involved in back-to-back matches during the race for the crown, a situation he described as “not easy.”

“I can say that we fairly tried (to defend the title),” Otieno told Flashscore.

“We tried because we played a lot of matches back to back, in fact, there was a time in a season when we played eight matches in 21 days, which was not easy.

“But, that is that, and we are just sad that we couldn’t achieve our objective, our number one objective, which was to win the league, but going forward, I think we have a good team, and maybe next season we will come back stronger.”

Gor Mahia could not win the leagueGor Mahia Media

With the league title already gone, Gor Mahia’s only hope for silverware is the final of the domestic FKF Cup, where they are scheduled to come up against Nairobi United, who were recently promoted from the National Super League (NSL) to the Premier League ahead of the new campaign.

“We have one game left to conclude the season, we face Police and we want to sign off in style, definitely we want to win for the fans, and we want to use it as a good build-up for the FKF Cup final, which we must do everything to win and end the season with a trophy,” added Otieno, who played for Gor Mahia, and made appearances for the Kenya national team, including two 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

“When we started the season, we set targets, the first target was to retain the title, and win the FKF Cup, we have missed out in the first target, and now all focus shifts to the second target, for a team like Gor Mahia, it is fair to finish the season with a trophy, and we have to make sure we achieve that in the final.”

Otieno’s sentiments were echoed by captain Philemon Otieno, who urged the fans to turn out in large numbers and watch the outgoing champions battle against the incoming champions.

“We need the fans’ support, we know we have not won the title, but that shouldn’t be the reason they won’t come for the final game of the season, we need them, we want to give them a win, as we prepare to play the final of the FKF Cup,” said Otieno.

Police will be crowned on Sunday, June 22nd, with a new trophy set to be presented to the team by FKF after the Gor Mahia game at Ulinzi Sports Complex.

2024/25 Premier League to conclude on Sunday

Meanwhile, the battle to avoid relegation from the top-tier will take the centre stage as the curtains come down for the 2024/25 season, with nine matches lined up across the country on Sunday.

With Police already crowned, all eyes will be on which teams will survive the axe and keep their status.

As it stands, the last five teams in the 18-team league table are not safe from going down. The five include FC Talanta, who are placed 14th, Posta Rangers, Nairobi City Stars, Murang’a Seal and Bidco United.

The five teams are separated by two points, meaning any team that wins their last game of the season will be guaranteed safety. Talanta will be away against Murang’a Seal, Rangers will be away against Bandari, City Stars will be at home against Mathare United, while Bidco United will take on Sofapaka.

The full Premier League standingsFlashscore

Rangers coach Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo is confident his side will win their game and stay in the top-flight. “It is not easy, and it is very tight at the bottom; anyone can survive or drop, but we know we only need to win, and we will do everything to win our game,” Omollo confessed to Flashscore.