FKFPL Why Gor Mahia - Homeboyz clash has a lot hanging in the balance including for Tusker

That game may look ordinary on paper, but may well be one of the most defining games in recent FKF Premier League history yet, and by quite a mile.

In the 85th minute of Gor Mahia’s 2-0 win over Ulinzi Stars at the Kasarani Stadium on Sunday, fans seated at the south stand were ecstatic after hearing that Wazito had gone ahead against title rivals Tusker at the Muhoroni Stadium.

By full-time, the K’Ogalo faithful were bullish. After four weeks, they were back at the top of the FKF Premier League table on 67 points at the expense of Tusker on 65 who could not get back into their game. The Gor Mahia anthem rocked Kasarani as both players and fans, including former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, sang in unison.

Destiny is now back in their hands with regards to potentially winning a first title since 2020. However, they will be facing a Kakamega Homeboyz side that have lofty ambitions of their own.

The Patrick Odhiambo-coached outfit reached the final of the FKF Cup for the first time in their history and will be facing Tusker on Saturday 1 July, in a game that will decide who will get the ticket for next season’s CAF Confederation Cup preliminary stages.

However, they have extra motivation in the sense that they could qualify for the competition next season despite losing the cup final, assuming that Tusker wins the FKF premier league title, which would make them qualify for the CAF Champions League. This will make it the first time in the club’s entire history that they have qualified for continental football.

Any Homeboyz fan will prefer to qualify for the tournament before they even kick a ball in the final. Should they beat Gor Mahia and Tusker win their next league match, the Brewers will return to the league summit.

As Robert Matano and his charges nurse the wounds of losing in Muhoroni, they will be praying that Homeboyz, a club that they will rival for the FKF Cup in just three weeks' time will do them a favor by upsetting K'Ogalo.

The pressure may well be on Homeboyz after all. However, it will not be the first time that Homeboyz have beaten Gor Mahia. This is the same side that upset Johnathan McKinstry’s charges at the Bukhungu Stadium in April to knock them out of the FKF Cup that could shape their history.

Odhiambo will need to instruct his charges to be as resolute as they were against AFC Leopards in the semi-finals as he faces the side he once served as an assistant coach.

“Tulisema kwa vyovyote vile hawatoki! (We said we would not let them get out of this game with a win),” Odhiambo boasted after the match.

One would wish to be a house fly in the Homeboyz dressing room at Nyayo Stadium when both sides meet on Wednesday 21 June to see what he will tell them again. Will Homeboyz find a way to change the destiny of their future even before kicking a ball?

Homeboyz chairman Cleophas Shimanyula has already asked Gor Mahia to be prepared for a tough encounter, the exact same way he dared AFC Leopards before the cup semi-final, saying they would still beat them even "in a GSU Camp".

"We will beat Gor Mahia in our next match. We are not interested in whether they will win the league or not. We will play that game like a final and show our true potential in the league. We shall also take it as a training game ahead of the 2022/23 FKF Cup final match against Tusker FC," Shimanyula told Nation Sport.

On Gor Mahia's side, Mckinstry will be wary of the threat the Kakamega-based side possesses. He spoke about it in cautious terms following his side’s victory over Ulinzi.

“We need to win against Homeboyz. We have to be prepared for a tough match because they are a really difficult side to play against.

“We expected our rivals to trip up again but again people will walk away from the stadium declaring champions which is not true.

“There are two big games to come up for both teams. We know that Homeboyz and Nairobi City Stars are teams that can cause problems with Homeboyz preparing for the cup final.

“They will probably rest their full team for their last clash but play their top guns against us.”

The Northern Irish tactician is also under severe pressure to deliver a maiden title or pay the price, especially having irked lots of Gor Mahia fans after K'Ogalo lost to AFC Leopards for the first time in seven years during the Mashemeji Derby. He will have a lot to prove to fully win over the fans, and he knows it as well.

Failure to win this season's title might be the last straw for the former Uganda Cranes tactician, who was described by Gor fan Tom Bwana as " the second most useless coach we've ever had after Frank Nuttal" for failing to beat Leopards.

“Everyone was getting over our backs after a run of three games without a win and people were declaring our rivals (Tusker) as champions but we knew this league is difficult.”

That game may look ordinary on paper, but may well be one of the most defining games in recent FKF Premier League history yet, and by quite a mile.