Gor Mahia head coach Johnathan McKinstry is backing his side to come out on top against Tusker FC on Sunday, saying they have the mental fortitude to see off the Brewers in a crunch league match.The second-placed record league champions will host the league leaders in a match that could potentially play a big part in determining the league winner. The two teams are separated by just one point with four matches left before the season concludes. Tusker lead the way with 64 points.##NAJAVA_MECA_7277235##Gor Mahia’s last game ended in a 2-1 defeat to AFC Leopards, while Tusker overcame Kariobangi Sharks by a solitary goal, and ahead of the game, the Irishman is backing his side to prevail against Robert Matano’s men.”We will go full throttle; when we’ve competed against rivals at the top of the table, we’ve always come up with a big performance….. I’ve got no worry that we are not going to put up a performance. It’s just about being clinical and making sure we convert our chances,” said the former Uganda Cranes coach.On the team spirit after the derby loss, the tactician believes they have managed to shake off the bad taste that came with losing to their archrivals for the first time in seven years.”The guys have been really in good spirits. The training intensity has been good and the quality has been there, and it has been nice to have a few extra days; they had an off day yesterday (Wednesday), and they are back today for that sort of run up to the finish line on Sunday for the game against Tusker,” he added.It’s a big one on Sunday, the crunch tie against record champions Gor Mahia.Bring your friends, bring your friends’ friends for this massive tie.#KenyaMilele #Brewers4Life @TuskerLager pic.twitter.com/rfyVnVPXjM— 🏆Tusker FC (@tusker_fc) May 25, 2023 He reserved some praise for the Brewers; he has particularly been impressed by the defending champions’ mental strength.”We know that we have to be at our best to break them down, and I don’t think there’s a team that has scored more late goals, and that shows mental toughness on the part of our opponents no matter whether they are losing, winning, or drawing the game. They go until the 95th minute; credit to them and their coaching staff.”Queried on the difference between the current Tusker team and the one that he beat in the first leg, the former Amavubi coach pointed out the addition of in-form left-back Levin Odhiambo into the squad and the availability of striker Deogratious Ojok, a player he knows from Uganda, as changes that boost the Brewers.”Obviously they have added a couple of players in the mid-season transfer window, including the new left back Levin, who’s very talented, and there are one or two changes in there, obviously. Ojok is back playing regularly in the first period; he wasn’t in the side,””They have around two players back from injury, and so in terms of their set-up and structure, there’s not a lot of difference. Tusker are a team that I would call a no thrills team, they know what they are trying to do, they are steadfast in their approach to the game, but they do it very well.”
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