Gor Mahia will take on Algerian side NA Hussein Dey this Sunday at MISC – Kasarani in a match that they have to win to increase their chances of qualifying for the CAF Confederations Cup quarterfinals.
Gor Mahia began their Group D campaign in an impressive fashion by silencing African giants Zamalek 4-2, a result that saw them top the group before a 2-1 loss in Luanda to Angola’s Atlético Petróleos de Luanda that dropped them to second position in the group.
Having narrowly failed to advance to quarter-finals last season, Gor Mahia players are aware that collecting maximum points at home is imperative.
Home Record Against Northern Opponents
Playing against teams from North Africa is always difficult and the technical bench is cognizant that it’s critical for the team to get positive results in home matches. Gor Mahia has however proved difficult to beat at home in the recent past, suffering only 1 defeat in their last 10 home matches in continental competitions.
Against North African opponents, Gor Mahia have played host ten times, winning three matches (against Libya’s Al Ittihad and Egyptian’s Zamalek – twice) while only losing once (Esperance, 2014) and drawing the other six.
The team should be however buoyed by their last home encounter against the Northerners in which they crashed Zamalek.
Tuyisenge Chasing Records
Even the most optimistic of the Green Army would not have foreseen Jacques Tuyisenge chasing goal scoring records set by the legendary strikers of yesteryears. His brace against Zamalek saw him move ahead of Andrew ‘Singh’ Obunga and behind Peter Dawo as the club’s most prolific scorers in continental football.
Two more goals in this tournament will see him become only the third player to get into double figures in continental competitions for a Kenyan club behind Peter Dawo (Gor Mahia, 14) and Wilberforce Mulamba (AFC Leopards, 12).
Team News
Gor Mahia will be happy to welcome back to the squad Philemon Otieno and Jacques Tuyisenge who missed the last encounter due to suspensions as well as Dennis Oliech who was carrying an injury. Coach Hassan Oktay will be having a near full house to make selection from for this fixture.