Harambee Stars fall to minnows Lesotho

Harambee Stars have been left with a mountain to climb in their bid to earn passage to the group  stages of the 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifiers after they went down 0-1 to Lesotho’s Crocodiles in a pulsating contest played in chilly weather at the Setsoto Stadium in Maseru on Sunday.

After a closely contested first half where Harambee Stars gave a strong fight, Lesotho turned on the pressure to score in the 65th minute when Bushy Moletsane dribbled pas defenders David “Calabar”’ Owino and David “Cheche” Ochieng to plant the ball in the net.

Stars must now win the return leg by at least two goals guarantee passage to Group C where Burkina Faso, Gabon and Angola lie in wait.

Deputy coach James  Nandwa, who was holding brief for suspended Adel Amrouche, elected to start with Allan Wanga as the lone centre forward with FK Tirana playmaker Francis Kahata deployed just behind him.

But Wanga, who sealed a big money move to Sudan’s Al-Merreikh last month, failed to sparkle missing two clear cut chances in either side of the break. The 28-year-old Wanga fluffed a first half chance and came agonizingly close just a minute after the interval but he was denied by Lesotho goalie Mohau Kuenane before being substituted by Jacob Keli.

LATE SURGE

Former Inter Milan midfielder MacDonald Mariga and Jamal “Malo Malo” Mohammed were brought in for David Gateri and Francis Kahata respectively late in the game but it could not yield much as the well-organized hosts, who camped in Botswana for week, gave no way.

Amrouche, who was serving the first of his two-match ban slapped by the Confederation of African Football, was on the terraces but, conceivably, constantly kept touch with his technical bench through phone texts.

A late surge by the flamboyant Jamal, Mariga and Keli kept the handful of Stars fans at the stadium on their feet but the hard tackling Crocodiles’ defense kept their discipline.

“We have had a  very compact game. It was just a small communication error at the back that cost us the match. We now have to try our best to get a win in Nairobi and qualify,” skipper Victor Wanyama said after the defeat.

Lesotho will be buoyed by the outcome ahead of the return leg with star-player, Bokang “Lefty” Mothoana expected to feature in Nairobi having missed Sunday’s encounter with an injury. Kenya was without Arnold Origi, Dennis Oliech and Ayumb Timbe.

The return match will be held on August 2 at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru.

Harambee Stars line up: Wilson Obungu, James Situma, Aboud Omar,  David Ochieng , David Owino, Victor Wanyama, Peter Opiyo, David Gateri (MacDonald Mariga), Francis Kahata (Jamal Mohamed), Clifton Miheso, Allan Wanga.