CECAFA Kagame Cup 24: Al Hilal deny Gor Mahia perfect sendoff

Record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia saw their CECAFA Kagame Cup 2024 end without a win after succumbing to a 0-2 defeat against Sudanese giants Al Hilal in their final Group B match on Tuesday evening.

Having already known that they could not progress past the group stages of the regional tournament following a loss and a draw in their opening matches against Red Arrows and Djibouti Telecom respectively, K’Ogalo were playing for nothing but bragging rights against Al Hilal.

New Brazil boss Leo Neiva made a raft of changes including giving goalkeeper Gad Mathews, centre-back Kennedy Onyango and midfielder Sydney Ochieng their first appearances in the tournament.

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On the other hand, Florent Ibenge also made heavy rotations to his side that had already gotten the job done following two wins that guaranteed them a spot in the semis.

It is K’Ogalo who came out of the changing rooms the sharpest of the two sides as they took early control of proceedings.

But just eight minutes in, Eldin Adil Ahmed came the closest to breaking the deadlock for Al Hilal but his flicked header from an in-swinging corner just narrowly missed its target.

K’Ogalo then got a perfect opportunity to make their presence felt but their lack of clinical edge let Al Hilal off the hook.

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Sydney proved to be a breath of fresh air in the K’Ogalo midfield as he cleverly, and sometimes ruggedly, snuffed out any danger posed by the Sudanese outfit.

Having managed to contain Al Hilal till the half time break, K’Ogalo were undone by a cheap goal in the 56th minute as Gad failed to deal with an innocuous Ahmed shot.

Mohamed Abdel Raman then got off the bench to complete the task for his side after making a clever run in behind before finding the bottom corner against an onrushing Gad to seal the victory.

“We controlled the game and played better than them for some parts in that first half and I am pleased with that. We are very satisfied with the behavior and attitude they showed and we are going to use these games as a big lesson to help us,” Gor boss Leo Neiva told SportPesa News after the game.

Gor Mahia will now shift their focus to another preseason tournament taking place in Nigeria from 1-11  August.

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