A first half brace by Samuel Onyango inspired Kenyan champions Gor Mahia to a 3-1 win over Nigeria’s Lobi Stars in their first leg first round CAF Champions League game decided on Sunday in Nairobi.
Gor Mahia were handed a dream start when their Rwandan import Jacques Tuyisenge whistled home an effort which caught Lobi goalkeeper Ospino Egbe napping in the seventh minute.
The visitors looked to find a way back in the game after the early setback but they went further behind in the 21st minute when midfielder Onyango capitalised on a defensive howler to double his side’s lead.
Lobi Stars however halved the deficit eight minutes later when striker Samad Kadiri was left unmarked in a corner kick situation. The former Bayelsa United forward glanced his header on target in the 29th minute.
Onyango then restored the K’ogalo’s two-goal lead four minutes later with a piece of magic. He embarked on a solo run which saw him go past a number of Lobi defenders before slotting past Egbe in goal.
Lobi Stars produced a control performance in the second half but the best chance of the half still fell to the hosts. Tuyisenge found his may around the Lobi defenders before lobbing his attempt over Egbe but his effort unluckily went over the cross bar.
There were no further goals in the game and Lobi will host the return leg in Nigeria in seven days’ time to determine who goes through to the group stage of the 2018/19 CAF Champions League.
In the Confederation Cup on Saturday, Nigerian representatives Enugu Rangers held their hosts USM Bel Abbes to a 0-0 draw in Algiers to set the tone for a crunchy second leg battle in Enugu next weekend.
Image: Gor Mahia FC
