Friday 15 January 2016

Olunga - Kagere Partnership - The Best Ever for Gor Mahia?


Well, it is now probably official that Gor Mahia will be without Michael Olunga and Meddie Kagere for the 2016 season and have quickly moved to replace them with Jacob Keli and Rwandese Jacques Tusiyenge. But will the two be missed by the club? Gor Mahia fans tend to live by the slogan “no one is bigger than the club” and always believe replacements are readily available. Sometimes rightly so, like when Olunga replaced Danny, but at times it could be a miss…like the years it took to replace Peter Dawo. Olunga and Kagere scored a whooping 57 goals between in 2015 and I have been wondering how easy it is to replicate that, so I took a step down memory lane to see how lethal other strike partnerships were. Were they for example more prolific than Peter Dawo and Sammy Onyango “Jogoo” in 1987, Gor most successful year to date? Or the partnerships between the legendary goal getter of the 80s Hesbone Omollo and whoever he partnered with during those glory days of the 80s?

In fact they were. Dawo and Jogoo scored 47 goals in all competitions between them (31 goals in the league) in 1987 while Omollo and Hamisi managed 33 in 1983. It is only in the league where Hesbone Omollo / Gedion Hamisi and George Yoga / Nahashon Oluoch partnerships outscored the Olunga and Kagere partnership. The tables below shows just how prolific this combination was.

Year

Partnership
All Competitions
2015
Michael Olunga / Meddie Kagere
57 (29/23)
1987
Peter Dawo / Sammy Onyango
47 (32/15)
1981
Abbey Nassur / Gedion Hamisi
37 (25/12)
1983
Hesbone Omollo / Gedion Hamisi
33 (18/15)


Year

Partnership
League
1979
George Yoga / Nahashon Oluoch
36 (21/15)
1983
Hesbone Omollo / Gedion Hamisi
33 (18/15)
2015
Michael Olunga / Meddie Kagere
32 (19/13)
1987
Peter Dawo / Sammy Onyango
31 (19/12)
1981
Abbey Nassur / Gedion Hamisi
30 (21/9)

*It is worth noting that in 1979 George Yoga “Best” and Nahashon Oluoch Lule scored 38 goals between them but I do not have the full stats of that season and the rest of the 70s yet.

                              
Kagere and Olunga



                                                 
Gedion Hamisi: Formidable partnership with Hesbone Omollo and Abbey Nassur in the early 80s

Olunga in the League

While I still don’t have the complete records from the 70s, it is well understood that Maurice Ouma “Sonyi” is the club’s leading scorer in a league season with 26 goals in 1976. I have therefore attempted to see where Olunga’s 19 league goals would place him with the other illustrious scorers of the 80s and 90s. He ties Peter Dawo’s 19 league goals in 1987 but apart from Sonyi, who else is up there with him? The following table illustrates.

No of Goals
Player

Year
21
Abbey Nassur
1981
21
George Yoga
1979
19
Michael Olunga
2015
19
Peter Dawo
1987
18
Hesbone Omollo
1983



It is thus safe to say that the club will surely miss the Olunga - Kagere partnership. Hopefully a successful season from Keli, Tuyisenge, Agwanda, George Odhiambo or whoever else will lead the hunt for goals will make the K'Ogalo faithful forget the two.  

Pictures: Olunga and Kagere - Official Gor Mahia Website
Gedion Hamisi - Daily Nation