Harambee Stars eliminated by Guinea Bissau
Harambee stars fell to one of their their lowest points yet when they were beaten at home by Guinea Bissau, a team ranked 40 places below them in the FIFA rankings. It marks the second time that Stars have lost t Guinea Bissau this week.
Additional reporting from supersport
Kenya is virtually out of the running for a place at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals after losing 1-0 to Guinea Bissau in a qualifier in Nairobi on Sunday.
Sanchez Semedo Cicero Casmiro’s contentious goal nine minutes from time handed Stars its third loss in four games leaving them bottom of group E with one point.
The hosts are also set to face sanctions after crowd trouble saw the match stopped for over half an hour as fans protested the awarding of Bissau’s goal.
Police had to fire teargas to disperse irate fans who bayed for the referee’s blood as well as the country’s football officials.
Having lost 1-0 to the visitors last weekend, Stars needed victory to keep alive their faint hopes of earning a place in Gabon next year but after wasting chances, they were undone by a sucker punch nine minutes from time.
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Coach Stanley Okumbi will again be on the spotlight after he gambled by withdrawing two defenders and throwing on attackers as he sought to chase the game only for his side to be caught out at the back in cruel fashion.
He made four changes to the side with Joackins Atudo, Teddy Akumu, Paul Were and Dennis Odhiambo handed starting berths.
The home side looked purposeful and assured dominating possession in the early stages. The first sniff on goal came in the 21 minutes when Clifton Miheso headed an Odhiambo cross over the bar.
Two minutes later, Wanyama sent Were through down the right but his cross was cleared by a combination of the Guinea keeper Mendes and defender Silva.
On 24 minutes, Miheso cross was half cleared with Akumu forcing the keeper to a low save from 25 yards.
Kenya was on the up and Michael Olunga flashed a right footed effort just wide on the half hour mark.
Wanyama followed with a long range effort four minutes before halftime while Olunga miskicked from six yards out.
There was still time for Wanyama to fire another shot narrowly wide before the breather.
Okumbi made a tactical switch at halftime bringing on Jesse Were for James Situma and moving to a 3-4-3 formation.
Olunga had Kenya’s best chance to score four minutes after resumption but his header trickled wide of a gaping goal.
Stars peppered they Guinea goal with Wanyama, Omollo and Olunga all trying their luck but none troubled Mendes.
Okumbi made his second change of the afternoon withdrawing Brian Mandela for Eric Johana.
It meant that Kenya had only two defenders on the pitch and the visitors sounded a warning bell on 68 minutes when Cicero forced Arnold Origi to a fine save after a well constructed counter.
Odhiambo then made a last ditch tackle on 76 minutes as Stars struggled to find balance.
The goal arrived nine minutes from time when a corner found its way to Casmiro at the far post and though Origi saved his effort, the assistant referee deemed that the ball had crossed the line.
The decision prompted furious reaction from Origi and the Kenyan players and the crowd soon joined in throwing projectiles onto the pitch and forcing security to fire teargas onto the stands and disperse them.
Play was then halted for a lengthy period and when it resumed, the visitors easily saw off the remaining six minutes for their second over Kenya in five days.
Harambee Stars
Starting XI: 1.Arnold Origi (GK), 2.James Situma,( 9.Jesse Were 46’) 21.Joackins Atudo, 5.Brian Mandela,( 10.Eric Johannah 78’) 3.Dennis Odhiambo, 6.Anthony Akumu, 12.Victor Wanyama (C), 19.Paul Were, 8.Johanna Omollo, 13.Clifton Miheso,( 7.Ovellah Ochieng 85) 14.Michael Olunga.
Unused subs: 18.Boniface Oluoch (GK), 4.Musa Mohammed, 11.Patillah Omoto,, 16.David King’atua,
Guinea Bissau
Starting XI: 1.Jonas Mendes, 2. Emanuel Gomis Mendy, 5. Rudinilson B. E Silva, 14, Juary Marinho Suares, 18. Paqueti Brito E Silva, 10. Ca Bocundji [C],( 6. Mendes Eridson 46’) 11. Nanisio J. Mendes Soares, 7. Jose Mendes Lopes, 16. Agosthino Suares, 9. Sanches Cicero Casmiro, 20. Idrissa Camara
Subs: 12 Rui Camara Dabo, 3. Lassana Camara, 4. Beto Tomas Catiane, , 19. Ansumane Junior, 21. Bruno Gomis, 22. Muhammed Cande
mwendwa and okumbi assumed that FIFA rankings would win the two matches for us. they therefore rotated the squad without considering the shameful consequences that now overshadow this nation. that, teams like guinea and lesotho have eliminated us at crucial fixtures reveals our weak underbelly of favouritism and greed. instead of taking a team of players to guinea, mwendwa sponsored a trip for his friends.
mwendwa will not take Kenya Football anywhere. Nyamweya was better. Mwendwa will be bad because he has no clue.
I am supprised that in Kenya passing ball is equated to plyn gud football. Kenya passed the ball but one hundred useless passes will never win a match. What was very obvious is that h.stars had no idea on what to do. Dribling by Were n Miheso was also confused as improvement. Were simply extended what a.timbe does best, ‘the one man show’. Okumbi football just leaves me numb. Harambee stars were simply idealess with this so called ‘must perform’ soccer. When you cannot create chances against a team 40 places behind u then smthn is very wrong. Can Okumbi-Musa now make the usual kenyan coaches statement… ‘we played well’.
…the goal by Bissau was genuine. But I want to add that this is the nature of football, another ref wud have denied the goal. The fact remains that harambee was never going to score. The ref could only use the linesman opinion in the situation n he did. In a kenyan league match this wud have been quickly interpreted as biased officiating.
Harambee Scars….We were clueless…While Literally every National teams we used to beat in the last has improved,Kenya has backtracked in Football development.Mwendwa has inherited a chronic Soccer deficiency Syndrome that years to correct.We beat Cape Varde home and Away in 2000.When we met them last time out the Eliminated Kenya.Guinea Bissau lost in Nairobi last time.We walloped Lesotho a few years back but they eliminated Kenya in a recent match.Folks we cannot win anything with the kind of Management we have.While in 80s Kenya was the aristocrat of East African Soccer,Tz,UG,Ethiopia,Burundi,Rwanda and Sudan have all overtaken Kenya.Today our national teams struggle to beat Lodwar and Garissa combined sides.Yesterday we were outwitted and outsmarted by Guinee Bisau.That goal was not contestable.It was a clear goal.Matters are not helped either by Okumbi’s comment that local KPL local coaches are sabotaging his work.Mr Okumbi,this is Harambee Scars.Your boss told us that 2017 was not a priority.Why did you bother to assemble a team?Now follow Chad’s example.Withdraw the team from this tournament.
He he he he ha ha haaaaa ati local senior coaches sabotaged? How low can you go Mr young coach? You and all in the federation did not intend to win, yours is to go to world cup 2022. Don’t play with our minds, you messed it all and you know it, don’t look for scapegoat. Mr president wherewas the tight security you had promised us? I only saw some hungry looking NEW men frisking us for foodstuffs and water bottles, and how come there were water bottles thrown on to the field?
WHICH young team is this we always talk about building?The bulk of the current squad is under 27 with olunga actually 21,akumu 23,musa 24,Paul were 24,miheso 24 etc…So youth is not the problem here bwana Okumbi,uts total lack thereof in harambee of skillful,talented and technically adept players,period…
I had said earlier that Harambee Stars is going nowhere. The problem in Kenya football reflects a lot rot from the poor leadership and corruption in the country. Corruption has become our lifestyle both at the top, middle and lower levels where our football activities are involved. We have no long term plans as a country this is a true picture with all football administrators.
Nick Mwendwa bought FKF leadership which can’t yield any desired positive results apart from back to back defeats. Shame on those FKF delegates that voted for this cartoon called Mwendwa who can’t even express himself. The cartoon is always quarreling with feminine voice and gesturing his hands as if he is addressing primary school kids. He is very lucky Chairman that Harambee Stars does not play weekends in weekends out.
Poor leadership period.
Gor in final round of talks with third corporate sponsor
By Odindo Ayieko
Sportpesa Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia will on April 16 unveil a third sponsor.
Club chairman Ambrose Rachier said talks are at an advanced stage with a local airline company to come on board as the third corporate partner.
Already Gor Mahia has a main sponsor in giant betting company Sportpesa who have put in Sh 300 million five year sponsorship and Crown Beverages who a sponsoring the club to a tune of Sh 50 million for three years.
“We will soon be signing a Memorandum of Understanding” with the third sponsor and unveil the partnership on April 16,” Rachier told dimbasport.com.
The Gor Mahia chairman further said the club is looking to get an insurance partner to work with the club.
“The players are insured, but we want to scout around for a strategic insurance partner to come on board as a sponsor and also as the club’s main insurer,” he said.
http://www.dimbasports.com/2016/03/25/gor-final-round-talks-third-corporate-sponsor/
nyakati ya kale harambee star iliwabwaga nyati kama nigeria, cameroon, cape verd, na hata Mibabe ka Bukinafaso, morocco na wengine woh kiwanja humu kenya kichinjio kilikuwa ni Kasarani moi internasional stadium wala c Nyayo tafadhali mwendwa c wachezaji wala kocha mbali ni kichinjio kasarani
It is unproffesinal for a national coach to make such a statement! It is very clear the coach did not read the game well. Why was he withdrawing defenders on the pitch? This is what gifted the opponents yet he is blaming other coaches. Okumbi has himself to blame. The goal was genuine since it crossed the line. Please Okumbi apologise to kenyans and find a better way forward. We must move on! I wish u all the best.