Harambee Stars 0-1 Lesotho: Stars lose to Lesotho in Africa Cup of Nations qualifier

Harambee stars' Johannah Omollo dribbles the ball past Comoros's Abduo Nadjim during their Cup of Nation Qualifier match at Nyayo stadium, Nairobi on 18-05-2015.PHOTO/DENNIS OKEYO

Kenya face a herculean task in the return match of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier after they fell 1-0 away to Lesotho on Sunday.
Tsepo Seturumane scored the only goal of the match in the 65th minute, giving his side a slight advantage going into the return match.
The result leaves Harambee Stars needing two clear goals in the return match to be played on August 2 in Nakuru's Afraha Stadium in order to progress to the group stages from which they can fight for one of the two places to play in next year's Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco.
Kenyan captain Victor Mugubi expressed confidence that they can get the results they want to make it through.
"We had a good game in the first half but we could not utilise our chances. However, it is not all lost. We still have an opportunity to make up for it at home. My

plea is for the home fans to turn up in large numbers and give us the support we need to go through," he said.
Technical Director Jacob Mulee shared the same sentiments even as he admitted that the players missed head coach Adel Amrouche who was suspended for the match after being sent off against Comoros last month.
"It was a tough game for both teams. Our boys gave it their best but the absence of Adel Amrouche was felt. Had he been on the technical bench, perhaps it would have made a big difference," said Mulee, who was in-charge of the team when they last featured in the Africa Cup of Nations finals held in Tunisia ten years ago.
Harambee Stars had nothing to show for their dominance in the entire first half though it was the hosts who started strongly as they forced two quick corners in the opening minutes.
After that the game changed in Kenya's favour with Allan Wanga coming close first in the 11th minute and then again five minutes later after his effort was kept out for a fruitless corner.
But in the 25th minute Aboud Omar's effort was cleared off the line by Nkau Lerotholi and it was the best chance for the Stars.
Stars could not maintain their dominance in the second half as their opponents came back with a different strategy which allowed them to get their first and only goal of the match.
Stunned by the goal, Kenya made their first substitution pulling off Allan Wanga for Jacob Keli. Macdonald Mariga also came on for David Gateri while Jamal Mohammed replaced Francis Kahat but it was still not enough to get Stars at least a point from this fixture.

Meanwhile, Botswana took a giant step towards advancing to the 2014 Africa Cup group stage qualifying phase after defeating Guinea Bissau 2-0 on Saturday afternoon at the National Stadium in Gaborone. A brace by Lemponye Tshireletso gave The Zebras the vital home win to take into the return leg in Bissau to be played during the weekend of August 2.

The Mochudi Centre Chiefs midfielder put Botswana ahead in the 27th minute with a close range shot. Tshireletso completed his good day at the office in 39th minute after firing in a volley from outside the box.