When Tusker faced off with Gor Mahia in December last year, the Henry Meja Show was born. The youngster, then known to very few, came off the bench to nudge in the winner in the 79th minute to give the Brewers their first win against K’Ogalo in two years. A star was born and has grown better as the season unwinds to even battle it out with the big boys in the top scorers’ chart.Since then, a lot has changed at K’Ogalo including a tinkering in the technical bench as well as transfers, and Gor Mahia’s assistant coach Sammy Pamzo Omollo knows that perfectly but insists that it will be a tough game, also because they will be playing at Ruaraka.Vaz Pinto joined the 19-time champions in January replacing the Brazilian tactician Roberto Oliveira and Pamzo in place of Patrick Odhiambo who joined Kakamega Homeboyz.Henry Meja finds the back of the netTusker 2 Gor 1— Meshack kisenge (@kisengemeshack1) December 16, 2020 This clash couldn’t have come at a better time for the two teams as both come into this game on the back of qualifying for CAF football next season; Tusker sealing the top spot on June 30 to qualify for CAF Champions and K’Ogalo piping AFC leopards on post-match penalties to bag the CAF Confederation Cup ticket.Tusker’s captain Hashim Sempala is upbeat that on top of sealing CAF CL qualification, beating his former team will push them more in their quest for the trophy they last won in 2016.“The team is training well with huge motivation. We are hoping to have a good game because Gor Mahia is a good team and they are the champions. They are also motivated after lifting the FKF Cup. Winning against Gor Mahia will put us where we want to be and therefore we are eager to get the job done,” Sempala said.Hashim Sempala rejoins Tusker on a two-year deal from Gor Mahia. pic.twitter.com/7Qe7oKBKcS— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) August 28, 2019 Not in the equation when the two sides met in the first leg, Pamzo acknowledges that the win in the Mashemeji Derby and the CAF CC ticket will propel the team going forward, not only in the game against Tusker but also in the remaining fixtures.“We have motivation because last week we had a good result and qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup and that will push us. What we want is to get good results not only in this game but also in our other games because we believe we can win the trophy,” the former Posta Rangers coach said.Pamzo is aware of the attacking threat that Tusker possesses and attributes their league success so far to their insane scoring form, admitting that they need to be on their best both defensively and in attack to ensure they get positive results.“From the first round, we are a very different side. It is tough game for us because we are playing at their place. They have a very good attack line and that is why they are topping. We are looking to do something about that and it means our defending has to be very solid and our attacking has to be so good to give their defence problems. I know it is a game that if we do the right thing we will get a good result,” Pamzo said.The work continues. Up next is a visit from the defending champions Gor Mahia.#KenyaMilele #Brewers4Life pic.twitter.com/tyxpvClKPT— Tusker FC (@tusker_fc) July 5, 2021 Gor Mahia will be without Alpha Onyango and Charles Momanyi both of whom are sidelined with injuries while Tusker could miss on the services of Luke Namanda and Wellington Ochieng’ who has featured minimally this season.The past 10 meetings between these two teams have been a balanced affair, with each team winning four times and there being two draws.While Tusker FC leads the log with 47 points from 22 games, Gor Mahia have overcome a torrid start to the season and lies fourth with 39 points, just eight shy of Tusker.Tusker’s scoring form comes second to none this season, scoring an average of 1.77 goals per match while Gor Mahia average 1.27 goals per match.
