Gor Mahia head coach Charles Akonnor has launched a scathing attack on his players after their 5-1 defeat to Pyramids FC in Cairo, blaming elementary individual errors for the heavy loss that ended their CAF Champions League campaign.
The Kenyan champions were eliminated 7-1 on aggregate following the defeat at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo, Egypt. Gor Mahia had gone into the second leg trailing 2-0 from the first meeting.
Speaking after the match, a visibly frustrated Akonnor said his players had been punished for mistakes that should not be made at such a level.
“At this level, you cannot perform like that, especially when you are playing against such teams. I’ve always said it: the least mistake you make, you get punished. We have to learn from those mistakes.
“Even in our first leg, the first half was almost the same story. In the second half, we came in and did well. But today is not acceptable. The mistakes and errors we made were elementary. At that level, you cannot make such mistakes.”
The Ghanaian coach went on to point out incidents involving Gor Mahia captain Mike Kibwage and defender Frank Odhiambo, while also expressing frustration with a decision made by the team’s goalkeeper.
“Kibwage was unable to kick the ball out. It happened. Frank also had the ball and, instead of kicking it out, he played it through. I can go on and on. Even our goalkeeper, a national team keeper, had two options to pass the ball to, but he chose otherwise.”
Akonnor said the errors were particularly disappointing, especially from players with experience at the national team level.
“These are big errors. You would expect players operating at a different level, including national team players, to know better. And it’s bad. Today, I am really upset, and I’m not the type of person who always talks about players. It was clear for everybody to see.”
The 5-1 defeat brought Gor Mahia’s continental campaign to an early end, leaving Akonnor with the task of helping his players regroup after the disappointing result.
The Kenyan champions will now return to Nairobi and shift their focus to domestic football as they seek to recover from the setback.
