In a match that was supposed to be crowned by President Uhuru Kenyatta and other dignitaries who ended not showing up, former Ingwe old boy Austin Odhiambo rose to the occassion as he lifted Gor Mahia to a famous Mashemeji Derby comeback against eternal rivals in a friendly match played at the Nyayo National Stadium in celebration of the country’s Madaraka Day.The game was delayed for almost half an hour as the expectant crowd waited for the Head of State and the other dignitaries who whoever gave the match a wide berth with no explanation whatsoever.Having scored the equalizing goal that forced the match straight into penalties after a 1-1 draw, Austin stepped up on the last pressure spot kick, silenced all the noise from the Ingwe fans who at one time used to support him and slotted past Levis Opiyo to send the K’Ogalo faithful into delirium after he sealed a 6-5 victory on post match penalties to earn his team the bragging rights over Leopards as they walked away with 1 million prize money.Ingwe, who were left with nursing tears after Peter Thiong’o missed the sudden death penalty, walked away with half a million and again on the losing side in a record that has stretched sinxe 2016.And K’Ogalo fans could not miss out on invading the pitch!Austin Odhiambo anachoma shule with the last penalty#MashemejiDerby pic.twitter.com/ZAhr2VvR2Y— Ochieng’ Stephen (@soo_ochieng) June 1, 2022 In the match, Ingwe, with their stylish possession based football, had dominated the opening exchanges with their showboating but it is Gor Mahia who had the first sniff on goal when Ugandan international Peter Lwasa located the head of Benson Omala who had made a good run behind the napping Ingwe defense.The Kisumu Day alumnus however could not get his bearings right as his header rolled across the face of goal without asking any question of Levis Opiyo between the sticks.Despite the game being very premature, patterns were already developing with Gor Mahia keen on hitting on the counter whenever they turned over possession as their rivals stayed true to their possession philosophy trying to penetrateGOR MAHIA WINAFC Leopards ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️❌✔ Esilaba Tedian ✔ Munene Washington ✔ Omune Victor ✔ Lopaga Josephat ✔ Makwata John ❌ Thiong’o Peter Gor Mahia ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️#MashemejiDerby #MadarakaDayCup#Betsafe #OursForever #INGWE— AFC Leopards (@AFCLeopards) June 1, 2022 K’Ogalo gained the ascendancy after absorbing Ingwe’s frenetic start and former AFC Leopards midfielder Austin Odhiambo ought to have punished his former employers on the 20th minute mark.From a harmless throw in, the skillful midfielder wriggled his way past three markers with a couple of ricochets helping his course and bringing the ball back on his path. But with the goalkeeper out of position after making a goal saving tackle, Austin blazed wide over the bar as the fans groaned in disappointment.Gor’s tactic of hitting the ball behind the Ingwe defense appeared to work and again it brought the record champions the closest to finding the opener in the 31st minute.Omala ran in behind once again and squared the ball back to Samuel Onyango on the edge of the box who unleashed a thunderous first time shot. Ingwe custodian Opiyo was however well alert to the danger as he made a diving save but it could have cost him as the ball landed straight to Lwasa in front of goal. Just like Austin, the Ugandan blazed his shot over the bar when all he could have done was hit the ball low.Half TimeGor Mahia 0-1 AFC LeopardsReally good half. Gor had the most chances to score but Levis Opiyo has been brilliant in the Ingwe goal.Leopards had only one shot on target and it ended up in the back of the net#MashemejiDerby— Ochieng’ Stephen (@soo_ochieng) June 1, 2022 Against the run of play, and after Gor blew two good chances, Ingwe utilized a set piece swung in by Washington Munene and tool the lead as Collins Shivachi found the back of the net with Ingwe’s first shot on target on the 36th minute, lifting the voices of their otherwise subdued fans till then.Gor tried to push for an equalizer in the remaining nine minutes but Opiyo stood firm between the ticks as he proved the stumbling block to his old employer’s quest who went into the break trailing by a solitary goal.In the second half, Ingwe abandoned their game play as they resorted to sitting deep in an attempt to keep out K’Ogalo who needed to find the equalizer in order to force the game into penalties.Their efforts seemed to be paying off but only until the 68th minute when heroic Opiyo turned to villain when he tried to play the ball from behind with Gor Mahia firmly closing in. Sando Sando dispossed him the ball and old boy Austin found a hole in that confusion as he restored parity in the game much to the approval of the raucous Gor fans.That bit of action proved to be the last piece of play as the game was forced into extra time penaltiesAFC Leopards penalty scorers: Tedian Esilaba, Washington Munene, Victor Omune, Josephat Lopaga, John Mark MakwattaGor Mahia penalty scorers: Philemon Otieno, Samuel Onyango, Dennis Ng’ang’a, John Macharia, Austine Odhiambo
