Kenya and Congo share spoils

Kenya secured a crucial point following a 1-1 draw away to Congo-Brazzaville in their Group E 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

The result means all four teams in Group E — Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya and Zambia — have one point each after the opening round. The match between Zambia and Guinea Bissau ended goalless.

Kenya sit top of the group due to the away goal.

Stars coach Bobby Williamson gave AFC Leopards forward Noah Wafula his first cap in the starting 11, as he opted for a conventional 4-4-2 to  pack the midfield in a bid to lock out the Congolese attacks.

The tactic worked in the first 15 minutes.

Unsettled at club level, pacey winger Paul Were fired Stars into the lead in the 10th minute when he picked up the ball in the opposition’s half, charged forward before drilling a hard low shot to the bottom left corner.

Though the Stars’ forward play was fine, they looked shaky at the back with the central defence partnership of David ‘Cheche’ Ochieng and Jackson Saleh struggling with long balls.

Saleh, under pressure, handled in the box in the 35th minute, giving the Red Devils the chance to level.

Their skipper, Prince Oniangue, stepped up and made no mistake with a fierce drive to the left of Kenyan custodian Boniface Oluoch. Though Oluoch guessed right, the power on the ball proved too much for him.

TOWERING STRIKER

Michael Olunga partnered Allan Wanga upfront, but he uncharacteristically fluffed an open chance early in the third minute, when he should have just tapped home Were’s cross.

The towering Olunga came close to make amends for his earlier miss with a fierce shot from the right but it was just inches wide.

Kenya face Zambia in Nairobi in the next round of matches on the weekend of September 4-6.

Elsewhere, Rwanda earned a valuable away win over Mozambique.

The visitors grabbed all three points from the Group H tie thanks to a solitary strike, which came after only three minutes through Ernest Sugira.

It gives Northern Irishman Johnny McKinstry a flying start to his reign as Rwanda coach, in his first competitive fixture since being appointed in March.

Ethiopia also got off to a strong start, beating Lesotho 2-1 in Group J. The game was played out in front of a huge crowd at the Bahir Dar Stadium, with reports suggesting more than 60,000 people were in attendance.

The massive home support were stunned on 41 minutes when the visitors took the lead. But after the break Gatoch Panom equalised and Saladin Said scored the winner on 85 minutes to give the fans plenty to cheer.