Harambee Stars stretch unbeaten run to 10 games

Harambee Stars players acknowledge their supporters after their international friendly match against DR Congo at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos on March 26, 2017. Harambee Stars won 2-1. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE |

What you need to know:

  • March 27, 2016. That was the date when the national football team last tasted defeat.

  • On that day, an expectant crowd sat in silence at the Nyayo National Stadium as a 1-0 loss to Guinea Bissau confined Kenya to the bottom of Group E, thereby extinguishing all hopes of making it to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

  • Before this game, Kenya had won just twice in 14 games, a poor record that had eliminated them from the 2016 African Nations Championship as well as the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

March 27, 2016. That was the date when the national football team last tasted defeat.

On that day, an expectant crowd sat in silence at the Nyayo National Stadium as a 1-0 loss to Guinea Bissau confined Kenya to the bottom of Group E, thereby extinguishing all hopes of making it to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

Before this game, Kenya had won just twice in 14 games, a poor record that had eliminated them from the 2016 African Nations Championship as well as the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

Since then, Stars have showed remarkable improvement, winning five games and drawing an equal number to push their unbeaten record to ten consecutive games.

It is an exceptional run of results, even though critics will point out that none of these matches made any special impact since Kenya had already been eliminated from all major tournaments.

Coach Stanley Okumbi’s consistency will however be severely tested in the coming months, when Kenya begins qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in June.

He will be coming up against four-time African champions Ghana, Ethiopia who beat them 2-0 last year to eliminate them from the 2016 African Nations Championship, and strugglers Sierra Leone.

Okumbi, who didn’t record any wins until his fourth match in charge of the team, has however grown confident with every result.

The 35-year old seems to have finally discovered his starting line-up, and his technical bench appears to have deciphered suitable strategies and formations to cushion them against opponents of differing strengths.

China-based striker Michael Olunga has emerged as a major force in the team, scoring 10 goals in 24 appearances for the senior national team so far.

Okumbi has continued to prefer him as a lone striker over Zesco United goal poacher Jesse Were, who was previously thought to be more suitable for that role.

Former first choice goalkeeper Arnold Origi has been permanently rested, with Gor Mahia custodian Boniface Oluoch establishing himself as Okumbi's first choice in goal.

Tottenham Hotspurs midfielder and team captain Victor Wanyama continues to prove his value to the team every day, as Zesco United’s Anthony Akumu, Belgium-based Johanna Omollo, Zesco United’s Anthony Akumu have proven reliable cogs in the Stars’ midfield.

The Harambee Stars defensive line has remained a four-man affair anchored almost always by David “Calabar” Owino and Brian Mandela.

What remains a challenge for Okumbi at the moment, something that requires urgent figuring out, is the absence of formidable and natural full backs in the country.

Omar Mbongi, Aboud Omar, James Situma, Musa Mohammed, Joackins Atudo among others have all been tried out in these positions, but with unsatisfactory results.

Harambee Stars under Okumbi

Kenya 1-1 Tanzania (May 29, 2016)

Kenya 1-1 Sudan (May 31, 2016)

Kenya 2-1 Congo (June 5, 2016)

Uganda 0-0 Kenya (August 30, 2016)

Zambia 1-1 Kenya (September 4, 2016)

DR Congo 0-1 Kenya (October 4, 2016)

Kenya 1-0 Mozambique (November 12, 2016)

Kenya 1-0 Liberia (November 15, 2016)

Kenya 1-1 Uganda (March 23, 2017)        

Kenya 2-1 DR Congo (March 26, 2017)