How three goalkeepers defined the 98th Mashemeji Derby

It was all going according to the script, at least for Gor Mahia, as the clock ticked.

They were comfortable, passing the ball with relative ease, transitioning swiftly from the back, through the midfield and only facing the expected resistance from the AFC Leopards backline.

Leopards on the other hand looked leggy and disinterested. They lost the ball as soon as they got it, much to the frustration of the away-end fans. And it was a lost ball that had them chasing the game from the half-hour mark.

The modern era of goalkeeping, demands, it seems, that you can’t just hoof the ball away. The goalkeeper is no longer described as a shot-stopper. It transcends that. You must be comfortable with the ball at your feet as much as you are with it in your hands.

Of course until a disaster strikes then you might as well start hurling insults at Manuel Neuer, or Alisson Becker, or Ederson Moraes, some of the world’s best goalkeepers at ensuring this evolution that started in the 2010s continues.

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Am not sure who Ingwe keeper Levis Opiyo aimed his insults at when he decided to execute the ‘play it from the back’ plan despite two Gor Mahia attackers lurking in danger.

It wasn’t a great pass from Kennedy Odhiambo who received the ball without an outlet in his mind. But the keeper didn’t cover himself in glory. He should have done with his first touch what he tried to do with his third touch – kick it away!

But credit must first go to goalscorer Austin Odhiambo as well as Benson Omalla who both pried at the opportunity and pounced err… on the leopard. A classic case of a hunter getting hunted.

That moment will haunt Opiyo but probably not as much as the accusations from conspiracy theorists who are claiming the error must have been premeditated.

Unfortunately, their claims are backed by some blast-from-the-near-past incidents, precisely from 2 June 2022, when Opiyo made an error that gifted Gor Mahia an equalizing goal which set them up for post-match penalties victory that brought home the Mashujaa Cup.

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Whether Opiyo should have had his day turned from bad into nightmarish with a sending-off for contact, or lack thereof, with Shariff Musa at the hour mark remains debatable.

That was chapter one written in this goalkeepers’ edition of the Mashemeji Derby.

Chapter Two, verse Kevin Omondi

The now louder-than-ever drums had barely gotten a moment to cool down when another goalkeeping chapter was written, this time on the other end of the pitch.

Devoid of service from his midfield, Leopards forward Victor Omune was having a frustrating afternoon but, in the 35th minute, he produced his side’s best moment of the game, or so it should have been.

A long pass from Kaycie Odhiambo dropped behind the Gor Mahia defence and Omune was quickest to react. His first touch was an attempt at looping the ball over the head of an onrushing Omondi but the execution wasn’t right.

However, Omondi was deemed to have made contact that denied the forward a goal-scoring opportunity. Referee Peter Waweru took a whole 30 seconds before brandishing a direct red card that threw the spanner in the works.

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Gor Mahia players protested, because they were obliged to, and no more. Omondi seemed content of his fate and was whisked into the dressing room – I thought it was strange for Leopards fans to hurl objects at him. The sending-off made their work lighter so he should have been given a heroic sendoff.

No?

Chapter Three, Verse Caleb Omondi

And so, the stage was set for the third goalkeepers’ chapter.

He didn’t dream it, and if he did, he must have wished that dream wouldn’t come true.

After all, sweet dreams are not made of being thrown in at the deep end of the ocean. But they are definitely made of swimming your way out should you find yourself there.

Scary, right?

And he must have been scared, goalkeeper Caleb Omondi, when he was summoned from the comfort of the substitutes bench and hurriedly taken through his paces in readiness for an assignment he was least prepared for.

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And he contributed massively to the 98th Mashemeji Derby. His first action was to stop the resultant freekick from the foul, and he did, albeit at second attempt.

It was all he needed to set the stage for an immaculate show that saw him pluck crosses from mid-air as well as ensuring his defence kept its shape for an hour plus.

His job wouldn’t have been done without collecting the customary booking for time wasting. Circumstances dictate that.

This was a derby that had it all. The football on the field wasn’t great but the tension on the stands and on the pitchside where stewards traded blows – I thought it was stupidly entertaining – we welcomed.

We can only ask for one more thing. That, when we put the 98th Mashemeji Derby in the record books, it will be titled: The Goalkeepers’ Edition.

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