Gor Mahia’s CAF Champions League campaign came to a crushing end on Sunday night after Egyptian giants Pyramids FC thrashed the Kenyan champions 5-1 in Cairo, completing a 7-1 aggregate victory in the first preliminary round.
The result ended Gor Mahia’s hopes of progressing in Africa’s premier club competition after they had already lost the first leg 2-0 in Nairobi.
The defeat at the 30 June Stadium exposed serious defensive weaknesses in Charles Akonnor’s side, with the Gor Mahia coach blaming individual mistakes for four of the five goals conceded.
Akonnor expressed his frustration after the match, saying such errors were unacceptable at continental level.Pyramids took control in the 26th minute when Walid El Karti headed home after Gor Mahia failed to deal with an aerial ball.
The Egyptian side doubled its advantage 12 minutes later when Nasser Maher capitalised on another defensive lapse to make it 2-0.
Gor Mahia had an opportunity to respond when David Okoth delivered a dangerous cross, but striker Paul Okoth failed to convert from close range. The missed chance proved costly as Pyramids added a third goal in the 45th minute through Youssef Obama, leaving Gor Mahia facing a huge deficit before halftime.
The Kenyan champions, however, showed some fight before the break.
David Okoth pulled one back two minutes into stoppage time, giving Gor Mahia renewed hope and sending the teams into halftime with Pyramids leading 3-1.
Gor Mahia started the second half strongly, pressing higher and putting the Egyptian defence under pressure.
David Okoth continued to cause problems with his pace and created opportunities for his teammates.
Paul Okoth even appeared to have scored from one of his crosses, but the effort was ruled out for offside.The comeback ultimately failed.
With Gor Mahia pushing forward, goalkeeper Byrne Omondi made a costly mistake in the 90th minute, allowing Mostafa Ziko to score Pyramids’ fourth.
Two minutes later, another loss of possession in midfield gave Ziko the opportunity to score again and complete his brace.
The final whistle confirmed a 5-1 defeat and a 7-1 aggregate loss, bringing Gor Mahia’s continental campaign to an early conclusion.
Akonnor was particularly critical of the mistakes made by his experienced players.
He said senior members of the squad should have shown greater composure and discipline against opposition of Pyramids’ quality.
The mistakes and errors we made are not acceptable. They were elementary ones. At that level, you can’t do such mistakes,” Akonnor said after the match.
The coach also specifically pointed to errors involving Kibwage, Frank and goalkeeper Byrne Omondi, saying experienced players should not make such costly mistakes on the continental stage.
For Gor Mahia, attention now turns away from continental football and towards domestic competition.
Akonnor’s immediate challenge will be to restore confidence in a squad that suffered a heavy defeat and address the defensive shortcomings that proved decisive against the Egyptian champions.
Pyramids, meanwhile, advance to the next stage after completing a dominant victory over the Kenyan champions.
