Mutamba's goal hands Migne first win as Kenya coach

Pistone Mutamba's 73rd minute strike gave French coach Sebastien Migne his first win as Harambee Stars registered a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea in a friendly match played at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos County on Monday.

The Wazito forward connected with Ovella Ochieng's cross for his first senior goal as Harambee Stars bounced back from last Friday's 1-0 loss to Swaziland at the same venue.

Migne effected a number of changes in the squad, bringing in Patrick Matasi in place of first choice Boniface Oluoch, and replacing striker Ovella Ochieng with Pistone Mutamba, who had shone as a second half substitute last Friday.

Musa Mohammed, who is currently unattached after terminating his contract with Albanian club FK Tiranna, was also reinstated to the starting line-up and started in defence alongside Joackins Atudo and Eric Ouma.

The Equatoguineans were very well built physically and looked intimidating as they took to the pitch at the beginning of the match.

They however created little during the opening half and appeared to have given the hosts too much respect.

Regrettably, Stars recorded no shot on target in the first half, although they created more chances than their opponents within that period.

Gor Mahia winger Francis Kahata's corner in the 16th minute was met by Mutamba, but the latter's header was obstructed by defender Fernando Rul.

Duncan Otieno floated another corner in the 23rd minute and this landed on Kahata's feet, but the diminutive winger squandered the chance by shooting wide.

Equatorial Guinea's Kata Senga stole the ball just outside the Stars half in the 25th minute and attempted a run homewards, but he was caught by the offside trap just before executing his final shot.

Basil Ndong caused another moment of anxiousness for the Kenyan side in the 31st minute, but was also flagged down soon after collecting the ball as the linesman judged him to have violated the offside rule.

Ovella came on in the 57th minute and had a good exchange with Mutamba, only for the latter to be dispossessed inside the box.

The Kariobangi Sharks forward again found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat in the 70th minute, but he lost the ball yet again before executing a shot much to the disappointment of the spectators.

He however made up for his misses by providing a spectacular cross from the right two minutes later which Mutamba accurately directed home to give Stars the winning goal of the match.

"Keeping a clean sheet was the main aim of this match and I am glad we managed to get that. We however aren't perfect yet. We still have a lot of work to do, especially with the new players. We also need to stay humble and ensure that such results are routine going forward," Migne said after the match.