Harambee Stars travel to Madrid next weekend to play Democratic Republic of Congo

Harambee Stars Coach Sebastian Migne during training at Kasarani Stadium ahead of AFCON group F return leg at Kasarani, Oct 12, 2018. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Harambee Stars coach Sebastian Migne was a satisfied man after his side edged out Madagascar 1-0 in Friday’s friendly in Paris.

Victor Wanyama, the Harambee Stars captain, scored the sole goal from a second half penalty after Patrick Matasi had denied Madagascar also from the penalty spot in the first half.

“We were lucky to come back strongly in the second half and it is good that football is a game of two halves. In the first half, we had some problems. One of them was altitude and secondly we had a number of new players who took time to jell.

“It was my first time to call up Ayub Timbe and John Avire was also making his debut in the team. This two have not played together with the rest of the team and  am happy that we were able to rectify everything in the second half,” Migne said.

Migne added that the win has given his side confidence going into the Africa Cup of Nations finals.

“It is a fantastic win and it gives the players a lot of confidence. The fact that we didn’t concede also means we have a strong defence which is a good thing.”

Migne said as much as he is preparing for this month’s Africa Cup of Nations, he is also looking at the future and believes Kenya has the players to give them confidence ahead.

“I was impressed by Avire. He has continued to show me that he deserves to be in the team and being young he can be the future star of this team. I am not afraid to put all my confidence in young players and we have a number of them in this team.

“I am also happy with Musa Mohammed, Joash Onyango, Brian Mandela and Bernard Ochieng.”

Wanyama said the win serves as a morale booster for the players. “It was difficult at first as we started the match but we kept growing in our confidence as the match progressed.”

Harambee Stars travel to Madrid next weekend to take on Democratic Republic of Congo in another international. Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed visited the team on Friday.