Will national football coach Stanley Okumbi pick his first win?
This is the big question as Harambee Stars take on Congo today in a dead rubber 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Kasarani from 4pm.
Kenya are bottom of Group ‘E’ after losing to Guinea Bissau by identical 1-0 scores and have been eliminated from the 2017 Afcon finals in Gabon.
Harambee Stars have only one point from four matches. However, beating Congo today will somewhat restore the long lost pride of football fans.
After today’s match, Kenya will play Zambia away in their last qualifier match in Sepember.
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The man in the spotlight is Okumbi, who is fighting to register his first victory since he was appointed head coach three months ago.
Okumbi has not won any of his four matches. He registered two losses and two draws and is under pressure to post better results.
“The fans are on my neck and it is understandable because they want a win. The same applies to me as well and we hope to do it against Congo,” he said.
Okumbi says a blunt striking department is to blame for the scarcity of goals, but adds that he has been working on the issue and expects to see some changes.
“Our biggest undoing has been the inability of our strikers to score goals. The fact is that we create so many chances, but are poor at converting them," he said. "We spoke with the strikers this week and expect to see changes against Congo."
The onus to score goals will be on Michael Olunga and Jesse Were, who are expected to start upfront. It is an opportunity for Olunga to redeem himself after a poor show against Guinea Bissau.
He last scored for Kenya during the Zambia match last September and hopefully, this can inspire him to get his groove back. For Were, it is also an opportunity for him to redeem himself.
Despite being the top scorer in the Zambian league with 12 goals, the former Tusker hitman is yet to replicate his club form at the national team level.
Other than poor striking, Kenya does not have a stoic defence. They have not kept a clean sheet in the last four matches. Here, David ‘Calabar’ Owino, Brian Mandela and Jackins Atudo must work hard to deny Congo goals.
