Junior Stars Weather Brutal Storm To Survive Hostile Somalia Test

The William Muluya charges were pushed to the limit in a hostile Addis Ababa atmosphere, surviving early scares to secure a point.

Junior Stars have started their campaign in the ongoing U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers with a high-intensity 1-1 draw against Somalia at the Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa on Tuesday evening. 

Kenya had to survive a turbulent start before finding the net, as Somalia thought they had gone ahead in the ninth minute through Bilal Yusuf, but his strike was rightly judged to be offside.

The tension escalated in the 20th minute with a major incident when Somalia’s Abdiqafar Abdullahi went down in the box under pressure from the Kenyan defence, sparking fierce protests from the Somali players and the crowd, but the referee waved play on.

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Although Kenya took the lead shortly after, it came under immediate threat as Somalia launched a blistering series of attacks in the 37th minute. 

The Kenyan backline was forced into desperate defending as Ahmed Ige drove through the midfield and released Ashraf Mohamud, whose cut-back found Ahmed Ahmed in space, but his goal-bound effort was crucially blocked by Julius Buong to keep Kenya ahead going into the break.

The lead eventually evaporated in the 55th minute when Anas Mohamed turned smartly in the box and fired past goalkeeper William Owino to level the score.

The Junior Stars remained in the game despite the hostile atmosphere, with Derrick Wanyonyi nearly getting the Kenyans back in front through a strong near post attempt from a tight angle that was parried to safety. 

Brighton Nacheri aimed to go one better moments later, but he too snapped wide from a clear opening inside the six-yard box.

Kenya continued to battle away in the closing stages, while Cosmas Masitsa got a big chance to give the Junior Stars the lead five minutes from time with a shot at the back-post, but he dragged well wide.

Nevertheless, the Junior Stars settled for a share of the spoils to open their Group B account, while this result marked a second consecutive stalemate for Somalia, who played out a late 2-2 draw against South Sudan in their opening match.

Here's how they lined up:

Kenya Starting XI: William Owino, Raphael Omondi, Julius Buong, Nevil Wafula, Nicholas Ochola, Armstrong Omondi, Nathan Achola, Brighton Nacheri, Georgian Omondi, Derrick Wanyonyi, Cosmas Masitsa.

Somalia Starting XI: Mohamed Ali, Muridi Abdi, Abdirahman Mohamud, Abdiqafar Abdullahi, Bilal Yusuf, Mohamed Mohamed, Anas Mohamed, Abdalla Abdirahman, Ahmed Ige, Ashraf Mohamud, Ahmed Ahmed.