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The Nairobian

YES, WE STRUGGLED BUT... Stars assistant coach admits to defending problems in Congo

Football

By Gilbert Wandera | Jun 17, 2015

HARAMBEE STARS
Harambee Stars striker Allan Wanga (right) takes a selfie with teammates Francis Kahata (left) and midfielder Jesse Were after they landed at the Maya–Maya Airport in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo on June 12, 2015.

Harambee Stars assistant coach Musa Otieno has admitted the team struggled at the back against Congo Brazzaville, but cautioned against blowing it out of proportion.

Speaking hours after the team landed in Nairobi from Congo where they picked a point in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, Otieno himself a former defender said: “We had some challenges at the back due to the fact that a good number of the players had not played together before.

“Because of this, we witnessed a communication breakdown from time to time. But we must not be too hard on them because if you remember at one point David (‘Cheche’ Owino) was called to save a ball that had gone past the goalkeeper.”

He admitted they could have done better at the back and pointed out that the mistakes committed gives them something to work on.

“Apart from the backline, we all agree that there are other areas that need to be improved as we prepare for our next game. Our strikers still need to work harder to score. The technical bench will continue to improve the team by calling up new players deemed necessary,” he said.

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The former long serving Kenyan captain said the 1-1 draw was a very positive result that they will seek to build towards qualifying for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Gabon.

“Picking a point away from home is always a very good result and in our situation, it was even sweeter considering that the team had to travel for close to 10 hours only to get problems with accommodation,” said Otieno.

He pointed out that the early goal by midfielder Paul Were helped to unsettle their opponents as well as give Stars morale in the match.

“It forced them to change their game plan which worked in our favour. It shows you that scoring an early goal is always better anytime.”

Elsewhere, coach Bobby Williamson has named his squad to face Ethiopia in this weekend’s Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) qualifier. Gor’s Harun Shakava misses out due to malaria but Ali Abondo makes the cut in the squad due to start training today.

The match will be played at the newly constructed 70,000 Barhirdar Stadium located one hour from the capital Addis Ababa.

The CHAN tournament is strictly for home based players.