Gor Mahia receive major boost ahead of upcoming fixtures
By Collins Amanga, October 29, 2023
Gor Mahia’s head coach, Johnathan McKinstry has announced that goalkeeper Gad Mathews is nearing a return to contention for a starting position in the team.
Mathews had been absent from the squad since the beginning of the season, allowing new signing Kevin Omondi to establish himself as the first-choice goalkeeper.
Gor Mahia comments on Gad
McKinstry mentioned that Mathews has been diligently working on his fitness during training and is now on the cusp of making a comeback.
He also highlighted the importance of having healthy competition for the goalkeeper position within the team.
“He is very close, he is in contention now, and he has been working hard on his fitness in training. But what we wanted here was competition,” he said.
He went on to praise Kevin Omondi’s performances, noting that Omondi has maintained three clean sheets and made crucial saves.
Gor Mahia keepers work
McKinstry emphasized the role of a Gor Mahia goalkeeper, which often involves making pivotal saves even when there aren’t many shots to defend.
“Kevin has kept three clean sheets, he has pulled off a big save, and the nature of being a Gor Mahia goalkeeper is you don’t have a lot of saves to make, but there are one or two moments you have to make a crucial save,” McKinstry stated.
Regarding the upcoming matches, McKinstry mentioned that with two games scheduled for the week, he will assess both goalkeepers’ training sessions to determine the starting goalkeeper for Wednesday’s match.
“What you have seen from Kevin is he pulls off big saves when needed. Gad does that as well, so let’s see. We have two games this week, and we will decide the lineup for Wednesday,” he concluded.
Last season, Mathews was integral to the race to win the title as he stood out between the goalposts.
The former Kariobangi Sharks goalkeeper kept 17 clean sheets and ended up winning the Golden Glove award jointly with Nzoia Sugar’s Humphrey Katasi.