Gor Mahia midfielder Ali Hassan Abondo has been named the Kenya Premier League player of the month of March in a brief ceremony held at the City Stadium in Nairobi.
Seven nominees had been fronted by Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) for the award, but the panelists narrowed the number to three, Ali Hassan Abondo , Tusker skipper Jesse Were and KPL joint top scorer Jacob Keli of AFC Leopards.
Abondo has been instrumental in Gor’s unbeaten run so far in the league. He is the club’s top scorer and the league’s joint top scorer having bagged 7 goals in 11 Kenyan Premier League matches.
In March he scored two goals in the league against Bandari and Chemelil Sugar helping his side register victories against the two teams.
Abondo was awarded 50,000 shillings, a personalized trophy and a 42 inch smart TV courtesy of Sports Journalists Association of Kenya in partnership with Sportpesa.
Meanwhile, Gor Mahia extended their unbeaten record in Kenyan Premier League despite being restricted to a barren draw by Western Stima in a match played at Kisumu Stadium.
It was the third draw for Gor Mahia and it slowed them down from hitting the 30 point mark but they will still be glad to remain at the top of the standings.
From the start, it was a relatively balanced affair with both teams giving as much as they received.
But as the minutes rolled on, Stima upped their efforts but there was still no clear cut chance to talk about.
Stima could only boast of a 30th minute free-kick awarded after Ali Abondo fouled Ronald Okoth inside his box.
For the KPL champions, their best chance of the game came at the stroke of half time when Abondo picked out George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo and the latter set up Meddie Kagere but the last shot was not keen enough to count going above the post.
Gor Mahia still leads with 27 points, 8 clear of second placed Thika United.
Elsewhere, AFC Leopards returned from Mombasa with maximum points after cruising past Bandari 2-1.
The loss was the fourth in a row for Bandari, who at one point were at the top of the standings.
Mussa Mudde hit the opener in the 47th minute goal but the lead was short-lived after David King’atua equalised with a beautiful header in the 54th minute.
Then Jacob Keli scored his seventh goal of the season sealing a win for Leopards in the 70th minute.
Leopards is 4th on the log with 18 points while Bandari slumped 11th place.
