Harambee Stars went into the Group F fixture smarting from a 3-1 defeat against Gambia at the same venue. Austria-bound Ryan Ogam led the way with two goals, captain Michael Olunga grabbed another brace, while Collins Sichenje inscribed his name in the scoresheet as Kenya ran riot in their final home game of the qualifiers.
Kenya took a deserved lead when a free-kick delivered by William Wilson from the left wing found striker Ogam, who glanced in a header. Sichenje made it 2-0 after heading home another free-kick from Wilson, before Ogam headed home Olunga’s effort that had rattled the woodwork for his second of the day.
Harambee Stars were then awarded a penalty in the 45th minute after Ogam had been fouled inside the area, and Olunga stepped up to smash it hard and low for a comfortable 4-0 lead at the half-time break. The Al-Arabi striker then thundered home the fifth to seal the emphatic win.
‘Kenya did exactly what we wanted to do’
“We did exactly what we wanted to do, especially after losing the last game against Gambia, where we committed mistakes and got punished, and that is the way to go, especially when playing at home,” said McCarthy.
“We wanted to take the game to them, don’t make it easy for them from the first minute, and when we create chances we are able to be more ruthless in front of goal, and I am very happy it worked for us, we dominated them totally, and should have scored even more goals.”
Out of the five goals Kenya scored, two of them came from set-pieces, and asked the game plan behind it, the South African legend said: “Ahead of the game, we worked a lot on set pieces, we knew their team wasn’t the tallest, so if we put the balls in the right areas, we could get some joy at the end of the game, but we had to be ruthless in front of goal.”
The former Manchester United assistant coach continued: ‘We scored four goals in the first half, and I’m very much pleased for the players, who got on the scoresheet. But overall, the way we played was very professional. We didn’t take it for granted, even knowing this team maybe isn’t as strong or as competitive as Gambia.
McCarthy dedicates win to fans
“I really can’t remember the last time when Kenya scored five players especially at home, it was a nice victory for the players, and the fans, whom we thought had deserted the team after the Gambia win.
“We feared the fans would not come after the Gambia game, but I am happy they stayed behind the team and came in large numbers to witness the win, I think the fans deserved the victory, the same as the players, who stood tall, picked themselves up well, and scored five goals.”
With Kenya missing out on qualifying for their first-ever World Cup, McCarthy was, however, pleased with how the team concluded their home matches in the qualification campaign.
“It’s a good way to finish our home games for the qualifiers, the players will now head back to their clubs, reflect on this, and then we regroup in October. We’ll go again, but now we’ve got something positive to build on,” concluded McCarthy.
The outcome left Kenya fifth with 9 points, 11 fewer than leaders Ivory Coast, while Gabon remained second with 19, and Gambia moved to third with 10, and Burundi fourth also with 10 points.
Kenya’s next assignment in the qualifiers will come in October, when they face Burundi away, and then conclude their group matches with a fixture against the African champions, Ivory Coast.
