Gor Mahia head coach Jonathan McKinstry was full of praise for his players after they defeated Shabana by a solitary goal in a Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) match played on Saturday in Kisumu.The defending champions secured the win thanks to Benson Omala’s goal, with the striker capitalizing on Fredrick Otinda’s mishandling of a free kick from Austin Odhiambo.The victory brought Gor closer to a record-extending 21st league title, needing two wins from the remaining five games to secure the championship for a second consecutive year.##NAJAVA_MECA_8095037##McKinstry also commended Shabana’s approach to the match, acknowledging that it posed challenges for his team.“Shabana came with everything they had. I thought in the first half, we created a couple of really good chances and got in behind them a few times. Obviously, we missed a penalty, which is a bit unfortunate, but the Shabana goalkeeper made a couple of great saves from Benson, and we also had one flash over the bar. In addition to the goal, we could have had a few more goals in the first half,” remarked McKinstry, who is expected to take over the Gambia Men’s National Team after guiding the Green Army to the title.Sports stakeholders call for dissolution of FKFThe coach revealed that he had to introduce fresh legs in the match to cope with Shabana’s intensity in the second half, as most of his players barely got any sleep due to early morning travel.“In addition to the goal, we could have had maybe three or four goals in the first half, and in the second half, Shabana threw everything at us with lots of long balls we had to defend. Towards the end of the game, we had to bring in some fresh legs. We had to be at the airport at 5 this morning, so a lot of guys had to wake up at 3.30 AM,” he added.“You could see the effect it had on the team in the first half, but their organization and discipline were excellent.”Coach @johnnymckinstry post match reaction🟢⚪️ pic.twitter.com/wpe6tCKEpG— Gor Mahia FC Ke (@gormahiafcke) May 12, 2024 With the win, Gor extended their lead at the top of the table to twelve points and are two wins away from being declared the 2023–2024 FKF Premier League champions.
