Gor Mahia were denied by Western Stima the opportunity to go top of the Kenyan Premier League when they were held to a 1-1 draw at the Moi Stadium,Karasani.

The result denied them the chance of going top of the Kenyan Premier League table. “It’s a funny goal that we conceded from over 40 yards. Stima created two chances and scored with one. That goal-keeping is becoming a problem and we must find a solution soon,” said Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay.

Vincent Oduor’s long range short ten minutes into the second half cancelled out Ernest Wendo’s first half effort for Gor Mahia to earn the visitors a point 24 hours after they had been docked three points by the federation for fielding an ineligible player.

“We stuck to our game plan and scored a fantastic goal from Vince who does it every time in training. The result is important for us particularly due to the injuries we have in the team and hopefully we can build on it,” Stima coach Paul Ogai observed.

As a expected, Gor Mahia did create the early chances with Dennis Oliech handed the captaincy and a starting berth testing Samuel Odhiambo early on.

Stima were contented in slowing the game down as Vincent Oduor and David Ojwang controlled matters in the middle of the pack.

Philemon Otieno could have caught Odhiambo off his line with an attempted cross but the burly keeper showed good agility for his bulky frame to tip the ball over. Former Gor man Luke Ochieng constantly caused panic in the Kog’alo box with his dangerous long throw-ins but the composure of Peter Odhiambo ensured no major damage was done.

A cynical foul by Ojwang on Wendo was the catalyst for the opening goal in the 26th minute. Samuel Onyango sent the subsequent free kick which every one missed but Wendo was alive to the situation and redirected the ball past Odhiambo to give Oktay’s men the lead. The goal seemed to have an unsettling effect on the visitors as they retreated to their half, allowing the champions to hog possession. Jacques Tuyisenge did well in finding Oliech but Odhiambo was quick off his line to clear the danger.

Gor who had sent in a squad with one eye on Sunday’s Confederation Cup clash against Hussein Dey had to make a change just before half-time when tough tackling defender Joash Onyango limped off after coming off worse in a tussle with Fred Nyarombo. Joakim Oluoch replaced him and nearly gifted Stima a penalty as he seemed to handle the ball in the box but the referee waved away Stima’s demand for a spot kick.