Williamson urges Stars to finish the job on Sunday
Harambee Stars forward Allan Wanga (centre) vies with Mauritius defender Louis Marco Dorza (right) during their 2018 Fifa World Cup first round qualifying match on October 7, 2015 at the Anjalay Stadium near Port Louis, Mauritius. PHOTO | NICOLAS LARCHE |
What you need to know:
- Kenya began its journey to Russia by whipping Mauritius 5-2 in the first leg of their round one qualifying match at the Stade Anjalay.
- Skipper Victor Wanyama, goal scorers Omollo and Timbe, who had all joined the team in Mauritius a day to the match, were among those who landed in Nairobi on Thursday, and the Southampton midfielder told Daily Nation Sport that the win was a motivation to the team.
Harambee Stars coach Bobby Williamson has urged his charges to deal with the pressure from Wednesday’s success in Mauritius by qualifying for the group stages of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Kenya began its journey to Russia by whipping Mauritius 5-2 in the first leg of their round one qualifying match at the Stade Anjalay.
Williamson wants the players to focus on the return leg set for this Sunday at the Safaricom Stadium, Kasarani.
This was the first victory with the senior national team since Williamson took the coaching job from Adel Amrouche mid last year, and the former Uganda Cranes tactician expressed his disappointment at the manner in which they conceded the two goals during the match.
“It was a good performance. I saw a tremendous improvement in the midfield department, and the way the midfielders coordinated with the attackers was just perfect.
“I am however annoyed that we conceded two goals. How do you concede two goals in a game you are in complete control of?” posed the Scot. “I have told them to put the excitement in the bag for a little while and focus on making sure that we don’t ruin it with a bad result on Sunday.”
Belgian-based midfielder Johanna Omollo scored a brace in the Wednesday encounter, while Michael Olunga, Ayub Timbe and Harun Shakava scored a goal each to give Stars a commanding lead going into the second leg. The Stars’ contingent touched down yesterday at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 12:45pm, and in the same flight was the Mauritius team that has been booked at the Mvuli Hotel in Ngara ahead of the return match.
WANYAMA RETURNS
Skipper Victor Wanyama, goal scorers Omollo and Timbe, who had all joined the team in Mauritius a day to the match, were among those who landed in Nairobi yesterday, and the Southampton midfielder told Daily Nation Sport that the win was a motivation to the team.
“I can’t remember the last time we got an away win, let alone score five goals. This result has given us a lot of motivation. Now we have almost secured a berth in the next round, but we are aware that the real test lies in Cape Verde because they are ranked higher than us,” said Wanyama.
Both teams begin preparations for the Sunday match immediately, with Harambee Stars expected to report to camp this morning at Kasarani.
Williamson also revealed that while he would like to retain the same squad for Sunday’s match, he won’t guarantee an unchanged team for the return leg.
“I hope to use the same players on Sunday, but we are expecting a few more foreign-based and depending on their fitness and availability, I may consider them for the clash,” he said.
