Allstars fall short: Hull City beat Kenya’s SportPesa AllStars 2-1

Cliff Kasuti of Kenya's SportPesa Allstars challneges a HUll City player during their friendly match at KCOM Stadium, Hull City, England last night. [PHOTO: STANDARD]

Kenya’s SportPesa AllStars lost against Select Hull City 2 - 1, thanks to an 11th minute goal by Elliot Holmes and an own goal by Haron Shakava 66th minute.

Kenya’s goal was scored by Humphrey Mieno. Joshua Otieno was in the field for less than a minute.

The man of the match was Osborne Monday, who has since transferred to Kariobangi Sharks from Tusker.

Meanwhile the much-talked about young talent from Kakamega High School, Joshua Otieno had last minute run out at the KCOm Stadium belated substitution by coach Stanley Okumbi.

His late inclusion in which he did not touch the ball got social media expressing their anger at Okumbi’s treatement of the youngster. But like any precocious talent, Otieno’s journey to stardom may have started in earnest albeit on a frustrating not.

The lad is that archetypal Kenyan boy child, shy and down-to-earth to a fault; so much so that in a crowd, he can easily be dismissed as an underachiever, a person who cannot speak out for himself.

Sure, there are instances when he cannot speak for himself, and rightfully so, because of his age, and you cannot blame him for that.

At times, his age might be a disadvantage. And for the past seven days, it has been - and someone had to travel to Nairobi to pick him up and bring him to Hull City, to join the SportPesa AllStars of which he is the youngest member.

When it comes to football or his career in football, his age is an advantage, and those who think that since he cannot speak he is not confident, just have to watch him play, and they will realise that Otieno is a magician, with not one wand, but two - his feet.

“He has the right age, right talent... he has all the qualities any coach would want,” Dean Windass, former Hull City striker who scored the goal that took the club to the EPL five years ago said of the 16-year old student of Kakamega High School.

Before flying to London and coming to Hull by road on Sunday evening, the biggest stage he had ever played on was at the Awendo Green Stadium for Sony Sugar during training after being drafted from their Under-20 side.

“Even being in Nairobi was an achievement for me at my age. Just imagine how I am feeling being in the UK,” he says, and adds, “I had never thought of coming to the UK, and apart from learning about it in school, I knew about the UK because Victor Wanyama plays here.”

Even then, Otieno does not watch a lot of European football. Not that he hates it, but he does not have access to satellite TV, a contraption many Kenyans consider a basic necessity.

He developed his love for football by watching local heroes, but now he can dream of playing football at the highest level.

Whether Otieno will live up to his billing, only time will tell.