Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Sunday, June 23 took time to comfort the Harambee Stars squad after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations.
This was Kenya’s maiden appearance in the competition since 2004, and with Sebastien Migne’s impressive record so far, many hoped Kenya would at least clinch a point against the Desert Foxes.
However, hopes of extending that superb run of form into the continental showpiece were dimmed by the 30th-minute mark, after Sofapaka midfielder Dennis Odhiambo brought down Youcef Atal in the box, leaving Al Sadd’s Baghdad Bounedjah to convert sweetly from the spot.
Manchester City man Riyad Mahrez made it 2-0 before the break, a deflected shot seeing Kenya’s goalkeeper Patrick Matasi collect the ball from inside his own net.
The tie was more or less over by the mid-second half- confirming Algeria’s dominance with Kenya left lingering at the bottom of Group C.
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After the game, Raila, accompanied by the Cabinet Secretary gave words of encouragement to the Stars in their hotel.
Football Kenya Federation boss Nick Mwendwa was also present.
“Rt. Hon Raila Odinga has passed his motivational message to the Harambee Stars as they seek to come back from their 2019 AFCON opening match defeat at the hands of Algeria” read the tweet.
FKF shared pictures of the pep talk on their social media, which were captured by Game Yetu.
Rt. Hon Raila Odinga has passed his motivational message to the Harambee Stars as they seek to come back from their 2019 AFCON opening match defeat at the hands of Algeria.#Tunaweza #TotalAFCON2019 #HarambeeStars pic.twitter.com/RLC5KH0nP3 — Football Kenya Federation (@Football_Kenya) June 24, 2019
