NA Hussein Dey’s Abderhamane Yusfi’s first half goal sent Gor Mahia back to second place in Group D of the Caf Confederation Cup on Sunday night in a match that was overshadowed by suspect officiating from Malian referee Boubou Traore.
Yusfi bundled the ball home in the 10th minute after midfielder Samuel Onyango had tried everything to scramble it off the line, and reserve keeper Fredrick Odhiambo had made a double save just moments earlier to keep his team in the match.
The overriding talking point of the game however, came in the second half when Hassan Oktay’s team seemed to have equalised through a header from Shafik Batambuze, but this strike was shockingly disallowed for an infringement.
The infringement, as later replayed on the big screens around the Stade du 5 Juillet in Algiers, showed Hussein Dey goalkeeper Gaya Merbah colliding with a team-mate and falling to the ground with no contact whatsoever from the K’Ogalo players.
Apart from this, Traore also flashed five yellow cards to Gor players with Nicholas Kipkirui, Tuyisenge and Onyango being first half culprits, while Francis Mustapha was yellow carded at half time on the reserve bench for complaining to the first assistant referee Baba Yombolba.
Only one Hussein Dey player was cautioned in the duration of the ill-tempered clash.
“That was the worst form of officiating I have ever seen at that level. I will be keen to read what the match assessors will have written because to me, that was a clear goal that we were denied. I don’t know what to say.
“I will speak to the coach and the club’s CEO who were present during the match and together we shall decide whether or not to write an official complaint to Caf,” said Gor chairman Ambrose Rachier.
In the match, Gor were second best in the opening period and the hosts took full advantage, administering several attacks, which was a complete opposite of the first leg match staged in Nairobi where Gor dominated the Algerians.
The defeat saw Gor drop to second in Group D with six points from four games as NA Hussein Dey rose to the top of the pile with seven. Zamalek are third and Angola’s Petro Atletico are last.
‘”We are still on course to qualifying. We need at least a draw against Zamalek and a win at home against Petro Atletico We are now focused on those two games,’ said Gor team manager Jolawi Abondo.
The K’Ogalo contingent were scheduled to leave Algiers at 4pm on Monday for Cairo where they will connect to Alexandria on Tuesday ahead of Sunday’s epic clash against Zamalek.