Harambee Stars fall to Egypt in friendly match
Harambee Stars coach Bobby Williamson looks on during a training session on August 28, 2014 at City Stadium. Stars lost 0-1 to Egypt in a friendly match in Aswan City on August 30, 2014. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- Scotsman Williamson loses his first match as national team coach
- The contest at the refurbished Aswan Stadium was settled by an opportunistic Amr Gamal strike 10 minutes after the break.
Coach Bobby Williamson’s debut as Harambee Stars coach ended in defeat after Kenya was beaten 1-0 by hosts Egypt in an international friendly match on Saturday night in Aswan.
The contest at the refurbished Aswan Stadium was settled by an opportunistic Amr Gamal strike 10 minutes after the break.
The Al Ahly predatory striker pounced on a loose ball that had evaded defenders Jackson Saleh and Charles Odette to instinctively rifle home a low shot beyond the outstretched hand of substitute goalkeeper Wycliffe Kasaya.
Williamson employed a conservative game plan that saw Stars opt to have many as men behind the ball as possible to cope with the pace of the North Africans’ forward line. The seven-time African champions used the non-Fifa recognised friendly as a build-up match for their opening 2015 Africa Nations Cup qualifying match away to Senegal.
“It was the first match of such a calibre for some of the lads but they took it very well. I’m encouraged by the performance and we will build on it,” Williamson told Arabic site kingfut.com.
Besides debutants Odette and Saleh, Williamson also handed a host of youngsters, including David King’atua, Brian Osumba, Geoffrey Kataka and Harrison Mwendwa - all of whom are yet to win a competitive cap - a run out in the match.
REBUILDING PROCESS
Noah Wafula almost handed Kenya what would have been a much talked about equaliser, but the AFC Leopards forward was put off by strong attention from experienced custodian El Hadry.
Stars are expected back home on Monday as Williamson continues his rebuilding process with another friendly match against 2015 Africa Nations Cup hosts Morocco next month.
Meanwhile, Lesotho’s participation at the ongoing 2015 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers is in doubt, following reports of political unrest in the country.
Credible reports suggest the southern African nation, which eliminated Kenya from the qualifiers in the previous round, could be forced to pull out following a military coup last week which forced Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to flee to South Africa.
