Errant Oliech will miss Comoros match, coach says

Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche has said striker Dennis Oliech will not play against Comoros in the return leg of the 2014 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary tie on Friday.

An angry Amrouche said he made the decision after the former captain missed training sessions without permission.

“He (Oliech) should forget about the next game. My principle is simple, if you don’t train, you don’t play and all the team members know that. He has missed training for several days and it is not like he had family commitments or an emergency, so he is not in my squad,” Amrouche said Monday during training at Nyayo Stadium.

Oliech, who is one of the senior members of the squad, left Stars camp immediately after Kenya beat Comoros 1-0 ten days ago, only to resurface Monday.

RESPECT AND DISCIPLINE

“Oliech is a good player, but I have other good players in camp who I will give a chance to play. Respect and discipline is paramount,” he said.

The  team is also likely to miss the services of midfielder Jamal Mohamed and David Owino who are sick. Owino on Monday took part in light running drills together with goalkeeper Duncan Ochieng, who is yet to fully recover from a shoulder fracture.

Creative midfielder Francis Kahata  who plays for Albania’s FK Tirana and Sanlam Santos centre half Brian Mandela attended yesterday’s training session which concentrated on running drills, physical endurance and  ball possession.

First-choice custodian Arnold Origi is yet to link up with the team, which leaves for Comoros on Tuesday.

While defeat will be frowned upon, a win will put Stars on the collision path with the aggregate winner between Lesotho and Liberian in round two of the preliminary qualifiers after which the victors will storm to the group phase joining Angola, Burkina Faso and Gabon for the rigorous campaigns.