Gor Mahia secured their spot in the 2026 CECAFA Club Championship final after taking a penalty shootout and edging Al-Hilal Omdurman 8-7 on Tuesday night at Kigali Pele Stadium.
Gor Mahia vs Al Hilal Omdurman
After the two legs of the semi-final were tied at the end of regulation and both teams had to go through extra time, the Kenyan side were able to do so after they managed to keep their composure from the spot.
After a sustained attack from Gor Mahia, they scored the first goal in the 38th minute.
Al-Hilal's lead would only last five minutes, however, as they responded in the 43rd minute and put themselves in a level position before half-time.
The Sudanese giants managed to slip through the back of the Gor Mahia defence and had the chance to level the two teams at 1-1 after half-time.
The second half became a tense and tactical affair as both teams were able to make some useful attacking movements but could not convert them into the clinching goals.
Gor Mahia were well structured in their defense while Al-Hilal were still looking for space in the Kenyan champions' defense.
The game went into extra time when neither side could get going in the run-up to the end of normal time.
Substitute Leslay Otieno was getting close to even the score early in the extra time.
Otieno created a good opportunity and tried to hit the ball hard but it missed the crossbar.
The challenge was made harder for Gor Mahia in the 100th minute when Jackson Dwang was sent off for getting in the path of the ball.The challenge was made more difficult for Gor Mahia when Jackson Dwang got in the way of the ball and was shown a straight red card in the 100th minute.
With 10 players on the field, K'Ogalo had a chance to press Al-Hilal's attacks in the remaining minutes.
Gor Mahia, however, played the match with discipline and determination to thwart the Sudanese side from giving them another goal.
They kept a cool head in their heads and made it to the pen after keeping a cool head on their shoulders.
The shootout lasted a long time, though both sides showed great composure, and kept kicking the more the tension inside the stadium rose.
A vital Al-Hilal error finally gave the chance to the Gor Mahia side to win the game.
The Kenyan winners made it 8-7 on the night as they found the net from a penalty in the shoot-out to qualify for the final.
Gor Mahia will now be facing Rayon Sports in the championship decider from the Rwandan side.
The other semi-final was between Rayon and Jamus from South Sudan, who won 3-1 to qualify for the final.
