'Pamzo': Shoddy preparations, players' strike cost us Caf tie

Gor Mahia stand-in coach Sammy 'Pamzo' Omollo says the club's management has to reassess the team's preparations for future continental matches.

Gor on Wednesday bowed out of the Caf Champions League after losing 2-1 to to CR Belouizdad of Algeria in the return leg match of their first round tie at Nyayo Stadium.

The result saw the team bundled out of the lucrative competition 8-1 on aggregate, having being hammered 6-0 away in the first leg on Boxing Day in Algiers. They will now play a two-legged play-off determine if they qualify for the Caf Confederation Cup group stages.

Omollo, a former Gor Mahia defender who is also the Posta Rangers coach, did not mince his words, saying shoddy preparations occasioned by players' strike made the task hard for him.

"I want to appreciate these boys for the way they fought despite this defeat. We have fought from the APR game and this match under tough conditions coupled with ongoing players' strike," said Omollo in a post match interview.

"This team has to reassess its preparations for the continental competitions in future. However, I can't blame them since the problem was in the whole team's  preparations. The work we did was evident and I feel honoured to have led them in the four Caf games," he added.

No coach

The 51-year-old coach said he is also open to leading Gor Mahia in the upcoming Caf Confederation Cup play-off, but that would be subject to an agreement between his parent club and K’Ogalo.

The reigning champions do not have a coach after the exit of Brazilian Roberto Oliveira, who went back home to upgrade his coaching credentials, and his assistant Patrick ‘Pato’ Odhiambo, who has since been appointed Bandari assistant coach.

Gor eliminated APR of Rwanda under the tutelage of Omollo in the preliminary round 4-3 aggregate after an emphatic 3-1 second leg win at Nyayo stadium on December 5.

Gor Mahia striker Jules Ulimwengu, who scored Gor's goal on Wednesday, called on his teammates to focus on the upcoming matches.

“The defeat we suffered in the first leg was our main undoing, but we have now to pick ourselves up and focus ahead. It was a tough match against a very experienced team. To lose is normal and now our focus has to turn to the upcoming matches,” he said.

The Burundian international however failed to comment on the team’s shoddy preparation and the strikes, fearing reprisal from the club management.

Gor were eliminated in the same stage in the 2019 and 2018 seasons by USM Algiers also of Algeria and Esperance of Tunisia respectively.