Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat is a delighted man after leading Kenya to an impressive international friendly outing against Russia at the Titanic Sports Complex.
Kenya held the former European champions to a 2-2 draw in Antalya, Turkey on Monday night.
Ivan Oblyakov scored in the 88th minute as Russia came from behind to deny Kenya a historic win.
Spartak Moscow forward Aleksandr Sobolev gave the Russians the lead inside the opening 10 minutes before Anthony Akumu and Masud Juma scored to give Kenya a 2-1 half time lead.
Speaking after the match, Firat said he was thrilled with how the team played especially with highly ranked nations.
"It's the first time that Kenya has played against a European team and a big football country with a big history. To play against those top players is really tough but we played well despite starting the game with mistakes," said the Turkish tactician.
"I love the fact that the team moved past the early set back and we controlled the game and had a lot of goal chances that we could score to win. But it's football you know at the last minute, Russia scored and therefore I am happy with how we played, but we could also win I think."
Kenya has been blowing hot and cold this year especially since the Fifa ban was lifted last year in November.
In their six matches played this year, Kenya have won two (against Qatar and Pakistan), lost three and drawn one.
In fact, Stars have not registered back to back wins. Kenya began their life after the Fifa ban with a 2-1 defeat to Iran on March 28 before defeating Pakistan 1-0 on June 14. Four days later, Kenya lost 1-0 to Mauritius.
Last month, Stars wrote history by beating 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar 2-1 in Doha before falling to South Sudan 1-0 at Nyayo Stadium.
The draw against Russia shows improvement in terms of playing highly ranked nations but the inconsistencies hangs a dark cloud over Kenya's chances ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers beginning next month.
However, Firat is praying that the fruits of the exposure the players have gotten by playing highly ranked nations will be seen.
"Facing Qatar and Russia shows that we are on a good trajectory to also compete with other big teams, and I hope that we can take all this on our way to both the World Cup and Afcon qualifiers," said Firat.
Kenya are in Group F against Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Burundi, and Seychelles.
They will begin their hunt against Gabon on November 13.
