Omalla: Gor Mahia signing eyes Golden Boot after missing out last season

BetOdds Transfers Gor Mahia Leopards Western Stima KPL

The teenage striker promises to bag the Golden Boot award after signing for K’Ogalo from the Powemen

New Gor Mahia signing Benson Omalla has set a target of winning the 2020-21 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Golden Boot.

The highly-rated teenager was unveiled by the KPL champions on Tuesday, just a few days after he turned down an offer from Wazito FC.

Omalla has now revealed the reason why he signed for Gor Mahia and what the fans should expect from him starting the new season.

“I feel very nice to move from Western Stima to Gor Mahia, because Gor Mahia is a big club here in Kenya and all players would love to play for this team, I want to thank the chairman for giving me the chance to play for this great club,” Omalla told Gor Mahia TV after signing the deal.

“Last season I wanted to be the top scorer, but I could not because of the coronavirus pandemic, it spoiled everything but this season, I want to start from where l left, my target is to win the Golden Boot and I know I will achieve my target at the end of the season.”

Asked whether he has any pressure now that he will be playing for the champions, Omalla said: “I don’t think so, I have played against Gor Mahia and scored against them and now I want to play and score goals for Gor Mahia, so I don’t see any pressure there.”

Omalla was a key figure for the Powermen last season as he registered a number of records. He became the first Western Stima star to hit a hat-trick in a KPL match, a record he wrote against Zoo FC at Kisumu’s Moi Stadium in December, where they won 4-1.

He was subsequently named the KPL Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) Player of the Month for December. Omalla broke a six-year winless run by becoming the third Western Stima player to win the award.

Kenneth Muguna, who is set to be his new teammate and captain at Gor Mahia should he not leave, lifted the SJAK award in 2015 as he was serving the Kisumu side. The other player to have done so is Wesley Kemboi.

Omalla featured in the Chapa Dimba na Safaricom All-Stars team that visited Spain in 2019 after he emerged as the Nyanza region's top scorer. The teenager made his debut against KCB, scored his maiden goal against the Bankers, and have not looked back since then.

He also earned a national team call-up for Kenya U20 in the 2019 Cecafa Challenge Cup that was held in Uganda, where he found the back of the net on two occasions.

His arrival at Gor Mahia means he has followed in the footsteps of Geoffrey Ochieng, Bernard Ondiek, Joash Onyango and Muguna from Western Stima to K’Ogalo.

Omalla will be expected to vie for first-team places with former Zoo striker Nicholas Kipkirui and Ugandan star Tiko Okello, who is among the new players to be signed by the club, having arrived from Vipers SC.

He is the third player to arrive at Gor Mahia from Western Stima in this window after goalkeeper Samuel Njau and midfielder Sydney Ochieng did so.

Cameroon forward Bertrand Konfor, John Macharia, and Andrew Juma are the other new faces at the club that is preparing to carry Kenya’s flag in the Caf Champions League.

2020-09-02 10:00:03

Comments

Send Your Comment

Download Application