Gor Mahia FC’s CAF Champions League run came to an end on Sunday as they lost 1-0 to Esperance in the return leg of their second-round clash at the Stade El Menzah in Tunisia.
The first leg encounter had ended 0-0 10 days ago in Machakos and Gor Mahia needed an outright win or a scoring draw to progress into the group stages.
Anice Badri’s 20th-minute strike complicated matters for head coach Dylan Kerr’s charges as they failed to find the much-needed reply with the hosts happy to go down easy at the slightest challenge to see out the rest of the match.
Esperance had to win this game through all the means to avoid being dumped out of the tournament. The Tunisian giants were lacking the match sharpness of Fousseny Coulibaly who played a key role in the 1-0 win over the green army.
Kerr had made clear his displeasure at the opposition’s ‘unsporting’ tactics in the first leg and was visibly livid again and was twice prevented from crossing over to the home tactical area as he protested the time wasting.
Gor are however not down and out as their continental run takes a slightly less glamorous route.
The Kenyan Premier League champions will seek a place in the Caf Confederation Cup group stages through a two-legged play-off match against an opponent that is yet to be determined.