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THE END OF AN ERA

It was Saturday the 8th, February when the green army in full party mood and attire painted the Narok Stadium green. Sofapaka FC was the home side but Gor Mahia fans, as always, outnumbered their host ten to one. It should have been a routine Gor Mahia victory. No Gor Mahia fan or anybody for that matter can recall the last time the club christened "The Government" lost to Sofapaka. Gor Mahai fans were already looking past this fixture. according to them, the three points were already in the bag. Except, at the final whistle it was the handful of Sofapaka fans who were celebrating. Gor Mahia did not know what hit them.
In the end, it was a comfortable victory for the "Batoto Ba Mungu". And so emphatic it was that the usually humble John Baraza, the soft spoken Sofapaka coach, said it would be impossible for Gor Mahia to beat them again. Gor Mahia were outfought and outclassed in every way. Gor Mahia have lost matches but not like this. They looked like headless chicken running around, chasing shadows and even when they had the ball, they didn't look like they could score. By the 60th minute it was Gor Mahia trailing by three goals, and praying for the final whistle to come. There was no chance for a comeback. The only obvious prospect was for the thrashing to get worse. It looked like it was about to get uglier and ugly it was. No one has ever seen Gor Mahia look so poor against local opposition in recent times. What had just happened?
Many people were surprised at the scoreline but it was a long time coming. It was only a matter of time before Gor Mahia arrogance and self delusion caught up with them. It all started with the sacking of Dylan Kerr in 2018. It was a poor decision to let go of him. Dylan Kerr had his shortcomings but he had Gor Mahia playing brilliant football and scoring loads of goals. It was he that got an average Gor Mahia side into the group stage of a continental competition for the first time in ages. But they dispensed with him. Now the chicken are coming home to roost.
More poor decisions followed. Tuyisenge, the clubs all time leading goalscorrer, still in his prime, was sold for peanuts to an Angolan Club. More exists by important players followed. Kahata, Afriye and George Odhiambo. Club captains kept ditching the club following the footsteps of Musa Mohamed with no adequate replacements. Amidst all these crisis, the club chairman decided it was the right time to announce his retirement that would no be coming until the end of the season. Sponsorship was lost and so was the cash that came with it. The club was plunged into  terrible crisis, unable to pay her players and coach. With no end in sight, it is not difficult to see why John Baraza was so confident that he'll never lose to Gor Mahia again.

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