Phillemon Apologizes For Gor Mahia’s Heavy Loss To CR Belouizdad

Tearful Gor Mahia assistant-captain Phillemon Otieno apologized to the club’s fans after CR Belouizdad’s  6-0 win at the  Stade du 5 Juillet 1962 on Saturday.

Belouizdad’s demolition of the Kenyan champions was their heaviest defeat ever suffered in a Confederation of African Football (CAF) club competition.

Amir Sayoud hit a hat-trick while Hamza Bellahouel, Larbi Tabti and Maecky Ngombo scored a goal each as Belouizdad ran riot to move a step away from African Champions’ League group stages.

K’Ogalo will now need to beat the Algerians by a seven-goal difference in the return leg on January 5 at Nyayo Stadium to avoid relegation to the CAF Confederation Cup play-off round.

“On behalf of fellow players, I would like to apologize for the loss against CR Belouizdad. It’s football and we have learnt our lessons,” Phillemon told the club website.

“It’s a wake-up call for us to pull up if we want to achieve our goals for this season,” he added.

The win puts Gor Mahia stand-by coach Sammy Omollo under mounting pressure as the playing unit is still complaining of unpaid salaries.

Gor Mahia had eliminated the APR of Rwanda a 4-3 goal aggregate to reach this stage.

The winner on aggregate will automatically qualify for the African Champions League group stage.

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