STARS GUARD UNBEATEN RUN: National football team coach Okumbi happy with team’s show

HARAMBEE STARS, DRC CONGO XI Captain Harambee Stars' Victor Wanyama control ball onMarcel Tisserand (left0 of DRC Congo x1during a friendly match at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos on Sunday,March 26, 2017. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

Harambee Stars have learnt some lessons from their hard-fought 2-1 international friendly match victory over Leopards of DR Congo in Machakos at the weekend.

The win came barely three days after Kenya drew 1-1 against Uganda Cranes at the same venue.

Michael Olunga gave Kenya a fifth-minute lead, Gael Kakuta made things equal on the hour mark, before Olunga grabbed his brace 10 minutes later.

Having conceded late against the Cranes, head coach Stanley Okumbi had warned his players against complacency as they prepare for their Group F 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifier away in Sierra Leone in June.

"Today's (Sunday) win was very important considering that we will be playing qualifiers in the next three months. To be honest, I have forgotten about the pressure I had after my appointment.

"But we need to focus and ensure we maintain clean-sheets especially when playing at home because it is always tough to play away. We can win very many matches because the beauty of it all is that we are now scoring goals," said Okumbi.

"We cannot concede in the dying minutes against Uganda, then do the same against Congo. We worked on it and the players knew they needed to concentrate all the time.

"But we still need to go back to the drawing board and analyse Sierra Leone matches. We need to come up with a strategy."

Okumbi hailed his tactical approach that saw him deploy a 3-5-2 formation that yielded the two goals thanks to a quick transition.

"We have been working on our transition and I am happy the boys perfected it," said Okumbi.

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