Owino, Lavatsa, Akumu, Kiongera in action as Kenya sink
The shambles that is Kenya national team football finally came to a head as Kenya were eliminated from the CHAN after being held to a barren draw by a determined Burundi side. The national team had been riven by confusion following the sudden departure of French coach Henri Michel.
In action in the starting lineup were Kogalo players Edwin Lavatsa, David Owino and Anthony Akumu. The match was poorly played in large part due to the poor condition of the Nyayo stadium surface. Kenya dominated possesion especially in the first half but never looked capable of prying open the determined Burundi defence.
Anthony Akumu stood tall in defensive midfield and held back any Burundi attacks. Edwin Lavatsa was quite active in attack but coordination between himself , Mike Baraza and Wesely Kemboi was below par. Paul Kiongera came in for Edwin Lavatsa in the 72 minute but he was innefectual.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga and minister Ababu Namwamba were in the crowd. One can only hope that these people understand the real problems plaguing Kenya football. It is also worth noting that Kenya are due to play Nigeria in less than a month. While Nigeria has been busy playing friendly matches against top teams, Kenya still has no full time coach.
SHAMEFUL
Yesterday we witnessed the national team players and officials receiving their allowances in cash at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi. Veteran Kenya one inernatioal Joe Kadenge was there too to inspire the boys. This evening the Right Honorable Prime Minister, RAO and sports Minister Namwamba are among the fans who turned up at the Nyayo national stadium to cheer the boys.
The match ended in a barren draw.
Harambee Stars therefore were eliminated from the CHAN competition. I am not normally known to let out my emotions, however Harambee Stars performance was pathetic and shameful. The local players really did not show they are playing an international match. The passes are poor and uncordinated. The striking pair of Wesley Kemboi and Mike Baraza failed completely to utilize several chances. The midfield too lacked creativity and ball control.
Henry Michel has nothing to do with our performance this evening. The boys simply did not match the expectations of the fans. I am therefore calling for an overhaul of the team. Disband the team if possible and take these boys to NYS.
Thats Harambee Stars, leave Nandwa alone;The boys tried and they came alive in second half after the inclusion of Okwemba, Arita and Kiongera which then brings to question Nandwa’s selection creteria.Why for instance was Kevin Omondi(Kevo) out of a match like this, not even on the bench?
Can some body bring David Ochieng(“Cheche”)home to Kogalo? Just thinking
The National Team should be disbanded and withdrawn from all international competitions with immediate effect. Just look at the way they run in the field! You may mistake them for people chasing goats in a grazing field.
In short atuwesmake.Michel had a good squad but when he went we just had another team.Kevo is an big asset yet the coach didnt have him in mind.If he was there things could have gone in a good way.FOREIGN COACH TOSHA.
Shameful and we just need to have a tough foreign coach.
These local coaches are clueless, no ideas, no technical know-how, spinless and above all useless.
Yes, the club football has improved but there are still lots of work to be done in Kenyan football. We need to change on how we can appraoch football in this country. We need to learn from other African countries such as Zambia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Nigeria etc on their secrets of success.
Guys you are all right, to hell with foreign coaches, disband the technical bench and take a new bold approach………..football in this country is in shambles and the buck stops with nyamweya. just like the way we are shuffling national team coaches, the same can be said of the playing unit. how many players have we called to the national team in the last 4 months ? do our coaches have the technical skills to read games, understand opponents and deploy winning formulas? every descent football nation in this world has what we call ‘starting 11’ i.e core players who have been tried and tested over and over and have jelled into a formidable playing unit. do we have that in kenya ? NO. do we have skilled and technically competent local coaches ? No. amazingly the days national team used to do well in continental football was the days two or at most three clubs used to provide the bulk of the national team and the coach was a local lad, who understands them very well .need i say more !!!!
Gor mahia and harambee stars players play very well for their clubs than for their country. That is what I have observed. How can Burundi, a country whose national league is lower than our kenyan nationwide league in all standards hold us to a draw?
I think the problem is with the mentality of Kenyan players. I watched the kenyan games even kpl games. Kenyan players in this particular game were extremely strong but lacked self-belief.
Strikers believed it is ‘the towel’ that made them not to score. Lavatsa & Baraza wasted several scoring chances, Arita wasted an open chance and Wafula could not overlap further despite numerous chances he had, he opted to shoot from very far and many other culprits. First half Teddy was missing balls but second half he stood tall. Also second half, Miheso disappeared completely and he could not be noticed. Anyway, Nandwa needed two holding mid-fielders like Kevo(14) and Okwemba but he decided to drop Kevin Omondi so what did you expect? The long balls technique that was being used that day has never worked for Harambee Stars!
IF YOU WANT TO SCORE GOALS IN KENYA I THINK THE BEST FORMATION IS 4-2-2-2 ….OFFCOURSE WITH KEVO AND WERE MANNING THE WINGS, TWO MIDFIELDERS AND TWO STRIKERS. THE QUESTION IS WHERE DO WE GET THE REST OF THE PLAYERS AND A COACH TO IMPLEMENT THIS FORMATION
Our players don’t learn. When I saw Lavatsa of all people concentrating on the towel instead of scoring I felt disgusted. For Arita I could understand his obsession with the towel. Didn’t we learn from Ivo’s towel last year? All the teams that concentrated on the towels i.e. AFC, Sofapaka and Harambee Stars lost.
Where was Kevo? At least we know Were was not feeling well. At least Kevo would have assisted by holding the ball and dribbling towards the Burundi goal. I loved Owino’s confidence as the last man
Happy new year Bloggers!
I think Harambee Stars management should consider giving our local coaches binding and lengthy contracts.As it is now Coach Nandwa is just a stand in coach. Remember Zico never got a commitment from FKF. Henri Mitchel left after losing two straight matches not withstanding he had all the support and big money for his job!
It has been this shifting between local casual labourers as coaches and foreign permanent contractees that has been the story of failed Harambee Stars. Let Mr. Nyamweya take the bold step of re inviting Zico to partner with coach Nandwa under a contract of four years of rebuilding Harambee Stars.
This is the only sure way of achieving success with Harambee Stars. Remember of all the times HS have participated in the AFCON and triumphs at the CECAFA only once were we under a foreigner hence to me the secret is not foreign coaches but the ever opportunistic nature of Kenyan fans and the FKF who think along the lines of hiring a coach on Sunday calling players to camp on tuesday, foreign players jetting in on Thursday and handed the jerzeys on Saturday on the match day to lose a match then we are shopping for another coach.
I don’t mean its Zico and Nandwa who can handle the HS, no they are just those who have tried the work under harsh conditions but there are others who if given a chance under a professional atmosphere will surely deliver.
Lastly, take note that the FKF is still looking for a coach when we are scheduled to play Nigeria in less than a month! Why don’t we just contract Nandwa and give him an assistant? Didn’t we see the comedy of hiring a coach and a translator? were options that limited?
I rest my case.
harambee stars no wonder i dont support my own national team with nyamweyas photo on tickets where can we go poor kenya i will never feel as if i belong to you interms of football get a good coach from abroad then let him do the work for like 2 years