BY GILBERT WANDERA
Nairobi, Kenya: Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche insists he is still in the process of rebuilding the side and said better results should be expected after last Saturday’s 1-1 tie against Nigeria during a World Cup qualifier.
The coach was also full of praise for his young players for standing up to the Super Eagles and termed them the real heroes of this country.
Amrouche also downplayed the decision to send him off with a few minutes before the end of the match insisting it was ‘better than having one of his players sent off’.
“For me the most important thing is building a team for the future. The result against Nigeria was great but we cannot read too much into it,” he said.
Amrouche said he has already identified a bulk of the players he wants to work with and, from now on, the focus will be on building their capacity so that they can be able to compete at the highest level.
He said it is too early to say whether the team can qualify for the World Cup, pointing out that a lot of work still needs to be done.
“We must give it time. We cannot expect to reap after just a few months of preparations,” said the coach.
Elsewhere, Thika United striker Francis Kahata, who scored Star’s opening goal against Nigeria, said he expected to score from a 36th minute stunning free kick.
Speaking on arrival from Lagos, the player said their was nothing special about the free kick and insisted he is used to doing it in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) matches.
“I am used to scoring such kind of goals from the same angle so when we won a free kick and I was allowed to take it, I was perfectly confident it was going to go in.
“I have done it so many times in the local league until I got used to it. For me, there was nothing special about it,” he said.
The Thika United ace received Sh100,000 from Nairobi senator Mike ‘Sonko’ Mbuvi for his effort and was accorded a hero’s welcome when Harambee Stars landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Monday as every journalist scrambled to interview him.
Kahata said it was unfortunate he did not score a second goal after he found himself unmarked in the Nigerian defence in the 78th minute.
“I still don’t understand why the ball did not go into the net. I was also expecting to score,” he said.
The player said he was encouraged by his performance, considering that it was his first match for the team.
He said the 1-1 draw has built a lot of confidence in the team and this must be maintained for the future.
Harambee Stars defied odds to hold the newly-crowned African champions in the 2014 World Cup qualifier. But whether that will be enough for them to qualify still hinges on more qualifying matches.
