Tanzania out for revenge against Harambee Stars in Chan tie

Harambee Stars training at Kasarani Stadium ahead of First leg tie of the 2020 African Nations Championship qualifiers, in Dar es Salaam [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

There will be no love lost in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania today (4pm) when Kenya’s Harambee Stars renew their rivalry with Taifa Stars in a highly anticipated African Nations Championship (CHAN) Qualifiers first leg encounter at the National Stadium.

Dubbed the East African derby, there is a lot at stake for both teams who will be meeting for the second time in less than a month after their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group C thriller in Cairo.

Harambee Stars twice came from behind to overcome their noisy neighbours 3-2 in a cracking game in the recently concluded continental showpiece in Egypt.

Save for a ticket to the next round of the local-based players’ tournament, the two familiar foes will be battling for the region’s bragging rights.

While Kenya will be seeking to complete a double over Taifa Stars, the wounded hosts will be out to avenge the Cairo loss.

The winner on the aggregate of the two-legged encounter, whose return leg will be held in Nairobi next Sunday, will tackle Sudan in the final qualifying round.

But while Taifa Stars have retained eight of their players who featured in Cairo, Harambee Stars has only captain Dennis Odhiambo and Bernard Ochieng in their squad together with the duo of goalkeeper John Oyemba and Joash Onyango who never played at Afcon.

And with a relatively new-look squad, Kenya head coach Sebastian Migne is banking on team’s spirit as he hopes to rewrite history by guiding Stars to their first-ever CHAN finals since its inception in 2009.

“This is a totally different tournament from Afcon. It’s an overall competition, but if we don’t have experienced players we can still compensate with the team’s spirit. We have been working on it, at least it will be a great experience for the young players,” Migne said.

“We did it against Ghana in the qualifiers without the likes of Wanyama (Victor) and Mandela (Brian). So, in essence, there is nothing impossible in football; it all depends on the team’s spirit.”

Just like the Frenchman, Taifa Stars interim coach Etienne Ndayiragije who doubles up as Azam trainer, is eager to end Kenya's dominance over them, and qualify for next year’s finals in Cameroon.

The Burundian has urged his charges to finish off the job at home today ahead of the second leg in Nairobi.

“Every game is tough. This is the game that we need to win, it’s a knockout, if you lose you are out, we cannot afford that. We know that Kenya is a good team but we will play well to win and ease pressure for the return leg,” Ndayiragije was quoted on CAFOnline.com.

Veteran goalkeeper, Juma Kaseja, who has been recalled to the team for the first time since 2013, is equally prepared for a ‘difficult’ match.

“I am very happy to rejoin the national team. As a senior goalkeeper I know the task that awaits us ahead of the game,” Kaseja said.