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The Turkish coach lashed out at his players for their lethargic display during the Four-Nations tournament opener
Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat has lashed out at his players for what he termed a ‘slow’ display during their Four-Nations tournament opener against Pakistan at the Cote D’Or National Sports Complex in Mauritius on Wednesday.
Stars won 1-0 courtesy of Kakamega Homeboyz striker Moses Shumah’s 17th-minute goal, but Kenya huffed and puffed from then on without creating many clear-cut chances against the Asian minnows, who are ranked 195 in the world, 93 places behind them.
A long ball floated in the Pakistan box and was not dealt with well, and the Homeboyz forward, unmarked at the near post, pounced on it to tap home his first goal for his country on his international debut.
The goal came after Stars had asked a number of questions on the Pakistan goal, with David ‘Cheche’ Ochieng coming close with a header after five minutes from a corner.
From then on, the Stars did not produce anything until late on, when captain Michael Olunga and Anthony Akumu came close to scoring, while they nearly conceded a late equaliser after struggling to get going, to the disappointment of their coach.
“Not happy with how we played; very slow. We adapted to Pakistan’s game and slowed it down,” Firat said after the match.
“Our team was not in the shape that we wanted, the passing was too slow, andwe lost a lot of opportunities, but 1-0 is not what we wanted, we have to do more.
“Seven players were missing, we have three new players who played for the first time. It is also not easy because we are not used to playing on an artificial pitch, which contributed to the low level.”
Firat will at least be delighted by the midfield partnership of Anthony Akumu and Richard Odada, which was impressive for large parts of the game, the latter deservedly received the Man of the Match Award, after a dominant display.
“It was very difficult, we expected to play on Monday against Djibouti, but we lost an opportunity to play since we did not get a plane on time. I came to give my best for my team so the award (man of the match) is for the whole squad,” said Odada.
Firat will hope to see a much-improved display when his charges face hosts Mauritius in their second and final match on Sunday.
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