CAFCL: Gor Mahia’s group stage dreams in tatters after heavy Al Ahly defeat

Gor Mahia’s journey in the CAF Champions League took a crushing blow on Sunday after they were handed a 3-0 defeat by reigning champions Al Ahly in their second preliminary round first-leg match at Nyayo National Stadium. The result leaves the Kenyan champions with a mountain to climb in the return leg in Cairo if they hope to reach the group stages.

The match, played under sweltering conditions, saw Gor Mahia outclassed by the Egyptian giants, who capitalized on defensive errors to take control early on. Al Ahly’s Percy Tau opened the scoring before Ramy Rabia added another to make the task for the home side even more difficult.

Gor Mahia started brightly but were quickly undone by their own errors. Just 13 minutes in, Boniface Omondi was dispossessed by Hussein Elshahat, whose shot was parried by goalkeeper Kevin Omondi directly into the path of Ramy Rabia, who made no mistake in putting the visitors ahead.

Things went from bad to worse minutes later when a miscommunication between Gor Mahia’s Kennedy Onyango and his goalkeeper allowed Percy Tau to pounce and double Al Ahly’s advantage. The Kenyan side, rattled and error-prone, struggled to recover from the early setbacks.

Despite the two-goal deficit, Gor Mahia managed to create some opportunities as the game wore on. Enock Morisson and Austin Odhiambo both tested Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy, while substitute Alpha Onyango brought more energy to the midfield. However, the hosts lacked the cutting edge needed to make their pressure count.

The second half saw Gor Mahia come close again, with Morisson hitting the crossbar, but it was Al Ahly who added a third goal late in the match through Percy Tau, effectively sealing their victory and leaving Gor Mahia with little hope of a comeback.

Gor Mahia now faces a seemingly impossible task in the return leg at the Cairo International Stadium. Trailing by three goals, the Kenyan champions must produce an extraordinary performance to overturn the deficit and keep their CAF Champions League campaign alive.

For coach Leo Martin Neiva and his side, the focus will be on learning from their mistakes and approaching the second leg with a renewed sense of purpose, even if the odds are heavily stacked against them.