Gor Mahia defender Ronney Onyango was forced to sit out of team training by head coach Leo Neiva on Wednesday as the record Kenyan champions attended their first training session after returning from Egypt on Tuesday, SportPesa Blog can exclusively confirm.
This is following an indiscipline case in Egypt where the defender was dropped from the matchday squad as K’Ogalo took on African giants Al Ahly in the return leg of their 24/25 Second Preliminary Round CAF Champions League clash.
In that game, K’Ogalo were facing the African champions seeking to overturn a 3-0 defeat suffered from the first leg held at the Nyayo Stadium on September 15.
However, K’Ogalo’s line-up for the decisive game at the Cairo International Stadium saw the name of Onyango, a regular starter, missing despite being among the players who had made the trip to the North African nation.
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On Wednesday, SportPesa Blog understands that Ronney made his way to training as usual but was not allowed to take part in the session by Neiva.
The coach called the player to the sidelines and talked to him in a private session that saw Onyango leave the training venue before going home as the other players took part in their drills ahead of their first match in the 24/25 Football Kenya Federation Premier League set for Saturday against Mathare United.
While it is not yet clear what the coach told Onyango, SportPesa Blog is aware that the Brazilian tactician is determined to instill a high level of discipline within the squad and will not tolerate any cases that do not meet the standard despite the stature of the player.
“We are going to change some positions in the team over an indiscipline issue. Football is not only about technical ability. It is about tactics, mentality, commitment, behaviour and attitude.
We do not like to put a player out but that will need to happen and some player will be out of the squad,” Neiva told SportPesa Blog ahead of Gor Mahia’s clash against Al Ahly in Cairo.
Ronney Onyango
Speaking after the Al Ahly game, Martins Neiva confirmed the Kenya national team Harambee Stars player had been dropped because of disciplinary issues.
“Rooney (Onyango) missed the game because of lack of commitment, behaviour, and discipline. We are a team and we need to work together for teamwork,” he revealed.
Asked whether the player will be available for K’Ogalo’s next assignment, Martins Neiva responded: “This is an internal issue that we are going to solve.”
SportPesa Blog can confirm that Neiva decided to drop Ronney because the player refused to honour his summons while rebelling against being fielded in an offensive position where he has shown a lot of promise since featuring in the right wing position for the national team.
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The former Wazito player has been an integral part of K’Ogalo’s squad and was the hero when they staged a comeback to defeat El Merreikh of South Sudan 5-1 in the return leg of their First Round Champions League fixture at Nyayo Stadium on August 25.
The huge win saw K’Ogalo overturn a 1-0 first leg defeat suffered in Juba to qualify for the Second Preliminary Round courtesy of a 5-2 aggregate win.
During the game at Nyayo, Gor Mahia trailed in the opening seven minutes but a quick turnaround saw them score goals through Chris Ochieng, Alpha Onyango, Alphonse Omija before Rooney Onyango completed the rout with a brace in the 80th and 92nd minute.
After the game, Martins Neiva singled out praise for Onyango, who had grabbed the headlines, for his superb display.
“Rooney (Onyango) really played well. He is a very gifted, quality player, who can play in many positions,” said the former Vipers SC coach.
SportPesa Blog is also aware that a section of the Gor Mahia players close to Ronney have already talked to the defender and have advised him to make an apology to the coach but that is yet to happen.
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