KPL defending champions Gor Mahia endured a tough night before narrowly beating Malawi's Nyasa Big Bullets 1 - 0 in the first leg of the CAF Champions League preliminary round played at MISC, Kasarani on Wednesday night.
Gor had a tough time to break the Nyasa formidable defense before substitute Bernard Ondiek came off the bench to score the lone and vital goal in the 94th minute.
Gor Mahia will head in the second leg in Blantyre on 5th December with a 1 - 0 lead advantage.
It was an enduring match that both Gor Mahia players and fans won't forget as they saw their effort ruled out twice in the 54th and 81st minute by the referee.
Despite dominating the proceedings, Gor couldn't find a way past the formidable, diamond system defense line deployed by Nyasa Big Bullets.
The hosts suffered a set back as they were forced to make a quick substitution, following the injury of talisman Jacques Tusiyenge who was replaced by Samuel Onyango.
Meanwhile, Nyasa lacked the cutting edge up front so was Gor, who couldn't utilize chances that came their way.
First, it was captain Harun Shakava's effort that went past the woodwork on the 15th minute. Three minutes later, George Odhiambo proved wasteful as he failed to tap home while unmarked.
Then came Cranes' striker Shafiq Batambuze, who also blew off his effort from an aerial ball.
Visitor's first effort came on the 33rd minute when Chiukepo Msowoya's header went over the bar from Righteous Banda’s corner.
Erissa Ssekisambu, who struggle to fill Tusiyenge's gap, saw his header blocked by Nyasa goalie Ernest Kakhombwe before the half-time break.
On the resumption of the second half, the host picked from where they had left an effort that was paid off on the 54th minute but the goal was disallowed due to offside.
Meanwhile, Nyasa seeing that they couldn't keep with the pace of marauding K'Ogalo strikers, resulted to time wasting and went down even at a careless tackle from the host, in an effort meant to share spoils and frustrate the hosts.
On 74th minute referee waived play on as Gor protested for a penalty after a foul on George Odhiambo.
Even as things headed for a stalemate, substitute Bernard Ondiek who had replaced Muguna, had final say as he buried home the winning goal on the 94th minute, thanks to Humphrey Mieno effort.