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Kenya managed a slim win against the Asian side who offered a lot of resistance in the invitational tournament
Harambee Stars began their Four-Nations tournament with a 1-0 win over Pakistan at the Cote D’Or National Sports Complex in Mauritius on Wednesday.
Coach Engin Firat handed debuts to two players with KCB goalkeeper Bryne Omondi and Kakamega Homeboyz striker Moses Shumah tasting national team action for the first time, having been included in the starting XI.
While Omondi was rarely tested, only making one good save late on, Shumah made his presence felt as he repaid the faith by scoring Kenya’s first goal after 17 minutes to calm the nerves of Firat’s men.
A long ball floated in the Pakistan box was not dealt with well and the Homeboyz forward, unmarked at the near post, pounced on it to tap home.
The goal came after Stars had asked a number of questions on the Pakistan goal with David ‘Cheche’ Ochieng coming close with a header after five minutes from a corner. The Kenya Police defender was at the right place at the right time but failed to connect well with the ball when free in the box.
From then on, Stars kept probing, Daniel Sakari bringing in good crosses from the right wing but captain Michael Olunga and Shumah were not able to capitalise on any of them as the scores remained 1-0 at halftime.
Firat then took off defender Aboud Omar for Bandari’s Hassan Abdallah while Sakari was later replaced by Cliffton Miheso in a bid to inject more invention in his side but it remained a cagey affair as Stars lacked incisiveness in their passing, especially in the final third, where Olunga and Shumah fed off scraps.
The midfield partnership of Anthony Akumu and Richard Odada was impressive for large parts of the game, the latter covering a lot of ground, and he was deservedly handed the Man of the match Award, while Cheche also looked assured at the back with his passing range a joy to watch.
Akumu, meanwhile, came close to making it 2-0 in the 60th minute when he fired just over against the run of play, while Olunga should have scored after 72 minutes when he connected well with a cross in the box only for the goalkeeper to keep out his well-taken effort.
Kenya, who arrived in St Pierre on Monday, two days late that they were expected, will take on hosts Mauritius in their second and final match on Sunday.
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