At the end of Sylvester Owino’s contract with Kakamega Homeboyz in October last year, speculations were rife about where the highly-rated defender would land next.In August of the same year, the 21-year-old did not succeed in securing a move to Portuguese second tier side CF Estrela De Amadora.Yet, offers from Europe were still rumored to be on the table, including from Denmark, but it was Gor Mahia, the record 19-time Kenyan champions, who in the end, successfully courted the player.”Gor Mahia were in my chase even before the previous season ended,” the 21-year-old told Mozzart Sport. ##NAJAVA_MECA_7088063##For close to five months now, the towering defender has trained under coach Johnathan McKinstry as he patiently waited for the February-March FKFPL transfer window to open to enable him formalize the move.”My decision to join Gor Mahia was influenced by the opportunities that I think will come with playing for the club. The club has a long and rich history that with hard work, one can leverage on to grow career wise. And also they offered me a good deal,” he said.Unfortunately, K’Ogalo are yet to be cleared by FIFA to sign new players, owing to a prevailing transfer ban, meaning their new recruits, including Sylvester, are yet to be given the green light to play for the record Kenyan champions. Despite the frustrating situation, the former Kakamega Homeboyz defender remains optimistic as the office races against time to put their house in order.Nairobi City Stars dragnet nabs match fixers; Russian, Ugandan among trio arrested in Roysambu”Honestly, it hasn’t been easy being out of the pitch for this long, it’s kind of frustrating, but I think it has also given me an opportunity to improve on my physical fitness because I didn’t have a good pre-season training,” Owino added.Gor Mahia, who are currently topping the FKFPL table as the league enters the final leg, have also lined up striker Patrick Kaddu of Uganda, Rwanda’s Emery Bayisenge, Enock Wanyama, a budding offensive midfielder previously with Kariobangi Sharks, for signing as they seek to bolster their squad from outside their ranks for the first time in two transfer windows.Owino is alive to the competition ahead as he will find a solid K’Ogalo defense that has performed above board in the first leg of the season, but he is not cowed.In 18 games, Gor Mahia have conceded the least number of goals (11) in the league and boasts a healthy goal difference of 16, also the best so far. Marcelo braced for new Swedish seasonA formidable partnership at the heart of the backline, comprising Dennis Ng’ang’a and Joshua Onyango with veteran Geoffrey Ochieng and Paul Ochuoga as full backs, has been impressive but Owino is ready to learn and compete.”In football competition always helps to improve the performance of the team and even personally as a player, you gain a lot. I believe the opportunity to be in the starting eleven will present itself and I’ll grab it . Also the likes of Dennis (Ng’ang’a) and Emery (Bayisenge) are experienced players so I’m looking forward to learning a few things from them as well.” he finished.The Kisumu-born remains ambitious, but as for now, he’s focused on getting better at Gor Mahia.
