Harambee Stars thrash Lesotho 4-0 in South Africa

Harambee Stars players line up before playing Lesotho on Sunday. [Lesotho Football Federation]

Kenya finally found the response they needed as Harambee Stars brushed aside Lesotho 4-0 on Sunday in South Africa, producing a much sharper display after the disappointing 1-1 draw between the two sides three days earlier.

The breakthrough came as early as the seventh minute when Mohammed Bajaber put Kenya ahead.

Lesotho failed to clear danger from the right flank, allowing Zech Obiero's cross to fall kindly for the winger, who calmly tapped into an empty net to hand Harambee Stars a deserved lead.

The goal settled Kenya and gave Benni McCarthy's side confidence after facing criticism from fans following Thursday's draw. The East Africans controlled possession and looked more threatening going forward, while Lesotho struggled to create clear chances.

McCarthy had handed a debut to Wealdstone FC defender Deon Woodman, who started alongside Alphonce Omija in central defence. The new partnership looked comfortable throughout the match and helped Kenya keep Lesotho's attack quiet.

Kenya carried their 1-0 advantage into the break before McCarthy made two changes at halftime. Kelly Madada and Stanley Wilson replaced Clarke Oduor and Erick Ouma, while Lesotho also made an adjustment as they searched for a way back into the contest.

Any hopes of a Lesotho comeback were quickly ended six minutes after the restart. Bajaber struck again in the 51st minute to double Kenya's lead. The winger continued his impressive outing with another well-taken finish, capping a lively performance that caused constant problems for the Lesotho defence.

With the match under control, McCarthy freshened his side in the 65th minute. Amos Nondi, Lawrence Okoth, Sydney Agina, Sammy Henia Kamau and Caleb Kramer came on for Austine Odhiambo, William Lenkupae, Rooney Onyango, Micah Obiero and goalkeeper Brian Bwire.

The substitutions injected fresh energy into the team, with one of the newcomers making an immediate impact.

In the 83rd minute, Lawrence Okoth grabbed Kenya's third goal. The youngster reacted quickest after a clever chipped pass found him in space, drilling a powerful effort beyond the goalkeeper to effectively end the contest.

Okoth was not done yet.

Four minutes later, Bajaber turned provider after receiving possession in midfield. He produced an excellent trivela pass that split the defence and found Okoth.

The forward controlled the ball expertly, cut inside and calmly finished to complete his brace and seal a convincing 4-0 victory in the 87th minute.