Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier has confirmed his full backing for Head Coach Charles Akonnor, despite the painful 1-0 home defeat to arch-rivals AFC Leopards in the 98th Mashemeji Derby at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday.
Rachier, who has been at the helm of the most successful club in Kenyan history for close to two decades, stated that strong foundations are built by learning from errors, not by panic reactions.
The chairman was emphatic that the defeat would not lead to the coach’s sacking, pointing to the club’s current standing.
Loosing a match doesn’t necessarily translate to sacking of the coach. We have lost three matches and are still position three in the league with some games to play. So you can’t say the solution is to sack the coach but ask him to learn and improve going forward.”
Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier stands by coach Akonnor after Mashemeji Derby defeat
He further underscored the unsustainability of axing a coach after every loss as it would be beat logic and the importance of having a league.
“If we were sacking coaches when they lose, then you might find that the Sportpesa League has only one coach surviving out of eighteen because all of them have lost at some point this season.”
The experienced lawyer who is set to be conferred with the title of senior counsel after approval by the Law commited gracefully accepted the defeat, congratulating AFC Leopards for their performance.
“AFC Leopards is one of the best clubs in the country, Gor Mahia equally a good club. For that reason it is a derby, it has got unique features like fans are enthusiastic and the result is taken too seriously.”
Rachier who could possibly be serving his final term in office also acknowledged that they were the second best team in the fixture.
We have lost, the match was very well organized, the referees were very fair, fans of both teams behaved very well and Ingwe outplayed us in almost each and every department and they deserved to win, I congratulate them for their performance and look forward to meet them again in the next derby.”
Despite the chairman’s vote of confidence, Head Coach Charles Akonnor has come under fire after losing the last two matches.
The Ghanaian, who joined K’Ogalo at the start of the season, has now lost three home matches ,a feat that has elicited mixed reactions among the fanbase.
Gor Mahia Gor Mahia fixtures 2025/2026 seasoncurrently remains on top of the league with nineteen points. Up next, they travel to face Bandari away at the Kwale stadium as they seek to return to winning ways.
