Derby revenge has Gor Queens purring for promotion playoff slot
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Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 23.04.26. | 11:08
With the league title already assured to Mathare United Women, Sunday’s result heightens a stiff race for second place finish between Gor, Leopardess and Bandari Queens
Revenge as a dish is best served cold so they say, and Gor Mahia Queens, the ladies faction of record FKF Premier league champions Gor Mahia FC, know this adage better.
Facing arch -rivals AFC Leopardess on Sunday 19 April at the Kenya School of law grounds for their return leg of the FKF Women’s Super league Zone A contest, Queens easily took apart a Leopardess side that had gotten the better of them in the first leg.
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Despite going down 1-0 very early in the match, Coach Tony Odiyo’s charges regrouped to see a 3-1 humbling of the Leopard at the end of ninety minutes. Lucky Achando levelled the scores from the spot, and an incoming Rael Kamanda sent the visitors 2-1 up briefly after introduction.
Dorine Obiero would stretch the lead far from reach for Leopards with the third ensuring Gor got to 35 points from 18 matches. With the league title already assured to Mathare United Women, Sunday’s result heightens a stiff race for second place finish Gor, Leopardess and Bandari Queens.
Goal scorer Kamanda says Sunday’s result does serve them a boost in confidence for second place finish and a shot at promotion in the play-offs.
‘’There was no way we were letting our fiercest competitors beat us both home and away so we came with a plan. The postponement of the match also gave us more than enough time to plot for the contest and we are glad everything worked out perfectly,’’ says the midfielder who replaced Ivon Adhiambo briefly after restart as the teams were locked 1-1. She would send K’Ogallo into the lead a few minutes later.
The clash, initially scheduled for 11 April, was rescheduled to 19 to allow the Kenya women’s national team The Harambee Starlets participate in the FIFA Series tournament, one in which they finished an impressive second to Australia.
Coach Odiyo has seen his side battle some of the toughest Super League contests especially against sides formerly in the top tier and seeking a return up. A stable backing by the club office and a resilient spirit in his team has, however, made his work a little easier and now faces the prospect of earning a promotion playoff position should the remaining four matches go his way.
It’s a tight race between Bandari, Leopardess and Gor but Kamanda insists they do have enough in their reserves to see the race to the end.
"Right now, the target is to win every match and not even focus on the results of others. We do not want distractions because the goal is simple. Win the rest and hope everything’s pans out in our favour to earn the second position on the log," continues the former Oserian FC midfielder.
Kamanda’s goal takes her tally to 3 for the season and for someone initially deployed as a full-back in the first leg of the campaign, it’s a feat that clearly won’t escape coach Odiyo’s notice as he preps for the homestretch. Lucky Achando leads K’Ogallo’s scoring charts with six goals to her credit.
Next up for Gor Mahia is second from bottom Barcelona Ladies after which Diani Queens lie in wait. These will be just two of the four remaining to determine if coach Odiyo and his charges should ready themselves for a promotion playoff contest against the second placed team from Zone B.
