When Sofapaka sneezed to give Gor the title;

Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech where he repeats the phrase; “Had I sneezed, I would have died.” Sofapaka went into their match with Gor Mahia on Wednesday 23^rd October knowing very well that should they sneeze, Gor’s –Giniwasekao (we have taken it) chant would be a reality. They held Gor for 88 minutes, then they sneezed, and Dan Sserunkuma fired in his trademark shot into the roof of the net from Patrick Oboya’s wonder pass.

The main man of the match was Sofapaka’s midfielder Benard Mang’oli and the flop for the day was Gor mahia’s Anthony Akumu. Eric Ochieng’ and Joseph Wanyonyi outplayed their own ‘veteran’ Akumu in the midfield. Eric was winning 50-50 balls and Wanyonyi was supporting attack very well. Johnstone Bagole was good at holding midfielder; in the end Mang’oli bagged man of the match.

Sofapaka played their traditional 4-4-2 with James Situma back in defense from kickoff.  Johnstone Bagole and Benard Mang’oli were in the midfield assisted by Bob Mugalia and Anthony Kimani. Mang’oli faced and outplayed Eric Ochieng’ on the opposite side. Bagole silenced Akumu and Sofapaka kept the Gor fans in the stand on the edge for a better part of the match. This set up worked and Sam Timbe can maintain it.

Gor played a 4-5-1 formation with Serunkuma the lone man upfront assisted by Kevin Omondi and Edwin Lavatsa on the flanks coming in from the midfield. So Gor had an extra man in the midfield and Sofapaka outplayed them in the centre circle. That brings the Akumu factor, playing him in central mid was a mistake. Eric Ochieng’ is better at central midfield; Akumu should have been in front of the defense. This was Gor’s undoing until Akumu went off for Moses Odhiambo in the 86th minute.

Sofapaka’s main undoing was attack. John Baraza and Mustafa Kasolo fired blanks throughout the match. Batoto ba Mungu gave a good account of themselves. Bob Mugalia was having his first start in many days and his lack of fitness was evident. He limped out in the 53^rd minute for the improved Elly Asieche.

Joseph Wanyonyi had a good day but his inexperience was shouting. He is the kind of player you don’t thrust huge responsibilities on at such a time in his career. Gor had a rough time but their defense of Israel Emuge, Mosoti, David Owino and Musa Mohammed stood firm.

In the end, Gor won the match from the bench. If a coach has Patrick Oboya (Lavatsa 68), Moses Odhiambo (Akumu 86) and Paul Kiongera (Omondi 75^th) on the bench, that is manpower. Sofapaka on the other side brought in Elly Asieche (Mugalia 52) and Patrick Kagogo (Kasolo 77). This is when Sofapaka could not hold the sneeze and Gor killed the game.

Apart from that, Gor has a champion’s mentality that combines resilience with character. If there is anything that has given Gor the title this season, it is those two. There has been little or no bad vibe coming in from Gor playing unit. It doesn’t mean they don’t have problems, I heard their training allowances were recently delayed for weeks but they kept their eyes on the ball.

Congratulation to Gor for winning the 2013 title and to Sofapaka for making the victory worth celebrating.