More questions for Harambee stars after draw
Gor Mahia aces Boniface Oluoch and Michael Olunga were in the frame when Harambee stars were held to an uninspiring score-less draw by Mauritius. Also in the frame was former Gor Mahia defender David Owino “Calabar”.
The Stars were expected to win comfortably after they had won the away leg 5-2. Not to mention the fact that Mauritius are ranked at number 168 in the FIFA rankings and have a population of only 1.3 million. Mauritius were not impressive either except for their goalkeeper Jean Louis who kept stars at bay bolstered by dogged defending from their backline which they packed.
Kenya created numerous chances but were guilty of missing several chances. Michael Olunga missed two gilt edged chances in the first half. On both occassions he sent timid shots on goal. Midfielder Eric Johanah Omondi, making his national team debut, was impressive and it was he who put Olunga through for one of his chances. Kogalo should consider bringing him into the fold.
Kevin Amwayi who partnered with Olunga upfront was ineffective. And after sending a glorious chance over the bar in the 70th minute, the fans started to agitate for Allan Wanga to replace him. Coach Williamson finally obliged and brought on Wanga.
Gor Mahia goalkeeper Boniface Oluoch was rarely called upon to act. However when he was called upon, he acquited himself well, saving a one on one situation, denying Mauritius Striker Kevin Bru who had beaten the stars defense on a counter attack.
Cape Verde will be a tall order
Coach Bobby Williamson has yet to record an impressive performance since he took over as coach, leaving many wondering how his Ksh 2.5 million per month salary is justified. Kenya will have to pull up their socks significantly when the play Cape Verde, a team that has improved dramatically since they lost to Kenya in 2003. Cape Verde are currently ranked at number 41 in the FIFA rankings, which is 90 places ahead of Kenya at number 131. Virtually their entire squad plays in Europe. The first leg will be on November 19.
Starting Eleven
Boniface Oluoch, Edwin Wafula, Dennis Odhiambo, David Owino, Brian Mandela, Victor Wanyama, Johannah Omollo, Ayub Timbe, Kevin Amwayi, Eric Johannah and Michael Olunga.
Substitutes
David Okello, Musa Mohammed, Abdulatiff Omar, Allan Wanga, David Ochieng, Teddy Akumu and Harun Shakava.
The team played very well. What is needed urgently are friendlies.
Timbe is too selfish though he is agood player.i think gor should make early bids for erick johanna and ian otieno before their prices moves to the moon.on rachier vying for fkf presidency-i think this is useless since rachier himself is not accountable and transparent just like sam.rem the gate collections,bread deals,the sportpesa deal etc.
Man can anyone near Mgmt tell them to get Johanna
He is the number 10 we’ve been waiting for.Harambee stars made me miss Gor Mahia;as you all know we the green army have been spoon fed to victory after victory
@Compressor Time had less of the ball and Olunga had a bad day in office
We need to bid early for Eric Johanna and John Ndirangu. With the anticipated reduction in the number of foreign players we need top notch local quality. The two fit the bill in my opinion
Removing Amwayi was a mistake. Wanga can nolonger run and is unfit. Harambee stars game was no improvement at all. They still could not score. Transition from the defence to the mid-field is to slow that even a team of grandfathers could have done a better job. Harambee stars game is wasteful with players still competing on who has the best sag than on whats happening in the pitch. I still believe Wanyama shud be dropped. It’s too obvious he feels he is the star of the team hence he takes his poor passes as part of the deal. Drop Wanga, Wanyama, Johannah Omollo et Eric Johannah.
These players do not have the mental grit to take Harambee stars anywhere.
Timbe is too attached to his self glory play that he is not adding any value.
I think Amyayi needs to be played on his Ulinzi position to get his full impact. The way he was being shuffled from left to right only tells you that the coach was not ready to work with him. Which brings the question how is Bobby being influenced in team selection.
I will congratulate Amwayi, Olunga, B.Oluoch so far as players who have shown the mental sharpness. This however is not enough to take Harambee past Cape Verde. Even though I suggest that these players be dropped, the biggest problems are the so called coaches. Watchn Wanyama playin for southhampton and the one who plays for Harambee stars you will see two diff players, when a coach is weak and idealess you get the Harambee stars version. Wanyama just like Oliech and Mariga have failed to lift the country despite playin in the advanced foreign leagues. What we have witnessed instead is a team making more news in the ‘Chips Funga’ arena than in football. Lifting a team is about what Keshi, Adebayor and Kalusha did for their countries. This team needs a coach with some ‘Logarusic inside’. KPL also has not been fair to Harambee stars preparation. Here I blame the Rachier-Nyameya fights. Why is it that the league can be suspended for the Shield cup and Super 8 yet this is not done for Stars training.
One example, The Nakuru Alls stars player Ndirangu who came in the last part of the game is very skillfull, however what you could see is that his skill was not tapped to work with the team. What you saw instead was a player who was simply brought in ‘to do something’ . This can be replicated to most of the team where each player thnks ‘mimi ndiyo James Bond’ … at the end you have a totally disfunctional team. Mauritius is a very lowly ranked team and were never a threat. I recommend the that thse players and more so the coaches watch the Malawi vs Tanzania game and see what technical football and mental preparation is all about. It has nothing to do with ‘hatujalipwa allowances’ or ‘airticket’ stories.
I agree with Dinga. There is no way Kenya was going to put a goal past Mauritius with that snail’s pace. Erick Johanna may be talented, but of what use is that talent if he remains selfish and is more interested in showing off his skills and seeking personal glory? Ayub TImbe too suffers from the same and I believe the two lads cost us goals with their individualistic approach. I don’t really think Olunga had a bad day in the office. I’d rather blame it on Erick Johanna and Ayub Timbe and this points back to a clueless BW. Had he fielded Ndirangu earlier, we would have had an Olunga goal.
The blog administrator seems to imply that Cape Verde is good because all their players ply their trade in Europe. Interesting! Doesn’t Wanyama also play in Europe yet what big difference does he make to the national team? I must say however, that yesterday he attempted to give a reasonable account of himself in that defensive midfield.
Good write up Dinga. But I would not drop players because they had one bad game. If you drop those players, who will replace them. Will Gattuso replace Wanyama? People will riot.
That game to sincere , Harambee stars played pathetically , if they continue the same way they will go nowhere.
For the first time I saw harambee stars string three to four passes since BW took over. May it was due to the caliber of the opposition they played against, otherwise patia Serenkuma tactics I guess will be back vs CV
Stars may have played well in certain phases but keep in mind that this Mauritius, a team that was not even trying. With this kind of performance, stars fans ought to be very worried about Cape Verde
Innocent Wafula should be in the national team
I agree Innocent Wafula shud have played.There is familiarity with Olunga which could have been the difference on Sunday.I also hope our hopeless coach will not resort to ‘patia Serenkuma’ tactics againsts Cabo Verde.
In defense BW anajaribu. But from midfield Harambee stars game is so pathetic that you wonder why and how you are required to pay for such a show. Football should be entertaining and interesting. But BW has never had those capabilities. He seems to me a man more inclined to grind out results than make his team play football.