After torturing Kenyan football fans for what has seemed like eternity, Harambee Stars yesterday finally put together a decent performance to beat Congo 2-1 in what was, unfortunately, a dead rubber encounter. For even with the victory, Kenya still remain rooted to the bottom of Afcon qualifiers group E with four points, a whole six points behind surprise group leaders and already qualified Guinea Bissau.
Long before the referee blew the whistle to kick off the Kenya-Congo tie, Harambee Stars' hopes of making it to Afcon 2017 in Gabon had been extinguished thanks to displays of mediocre football that left Kenya clutching to a single point after drawing 1-1 with Congo and enduring a three match loosing streak against Zambia (1-2) and Guinea Bissau (1-0; 0-1).
It is ridiculous that Guinea Bissau qualified for Afcon 2017 courtesy of the six points they snatched from Kenya. If we got just four of those points, we would be sitting a top group E, still firmly in contention for Cabon 2017. Instead, the underdogs from West Africa have benefitted from Kenya's generosity, in the process eliminating initial favourites Zambia and Congo.
So how did we finally manage to secure a victory after hundreds of football minutes of trying? It is interesting that Kenya's two goals (Ayub Timbe's equaliser and Eric Johanna's beautiful strike) came via lightning counter-attacking moves. It helped that Congo were themselves under pressure to attack Kenya to ensure they took the Afcon qualification battle to the final day in Brazzaville against Guinea Bissau.
Still, we have watched over and over as Kenya launched counter-attacks that died even before the ball had reached the centre of the field. What has been more familiar with Kenya's football in recent matches has been a bunch of 11 tippy-tappy individuals moving the ball around, as if wondering where the hell the opponent's goal posts had disappeared to.
Kenya's poverty in attacking football was still evident yesterday, considering that striker Olunga hardly had any meaningful strike on goal throughout the match. The difference this time round was that two counter-attacks were executed successfully, resulting in goals that won Kenya the tie.
Coach Stanley Okumbi and his technical staff should build on this win by ensuring that Kenya's rediscovered counter-attacking effectiveness is nurtured and employed more in the national team's football encounters.
Aside from the well-deserved victory, it was pleasant to witness an injection of new blood into the team in the form of promising Gor Mahia left back Eric 'Marcelo' Omondi and Spain-born Ismail Gonzales of CD Las Palmas. Omondi was especially exciting to watch and Gonzales showed flashes of brilliance and he could prove to be a mid-field gem for Kenya in future. More effort should be made to expand the talent-pool for the national team so that competition and depth can be guaranteed in the team.
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