The Harambee Stars captain is wowed by the manner in which Kenya performed in Doha to secure a last-minute victory against Qatar
Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga has expressed his satisfaction at Kenya’s display in their 2-1 victory over Qatar in their friendly match in Doha on Thursday.
Joseph Okumu and Amos Nondi scored either side of Hassan Al-Haydos’ penalty to give Kenya the much-needed victory with Olunga setting up Stars’ second goal.
It was a much-improved display from Kenya’s last match against Mauritius when they lost 1-0, having struggled to create chances, with their expansive style yielding a number of great opportunities and Olunga feels it is a sign of better things to come.
“Qatar played really well but we showed character, the tempo of the game was quite high and with the collective effort that the team had, we can continue to play these kind of games,” said Olunga after the match.
20:20 - 07.09.2023
FOOTBALL Amos Nondi with a last-minute goal as Harambee Stars edge Qatar
Kenya left it late to beat Qatar in their friendly match in Doha on Thursday evening
“I am happy for my team’s performance, we started the game well and finished well. It was very difficult because Qatar national team played really good football but at the end, we managed to score in the last minute and congratulations to all the teams.”
Olunga came close to opening the scoring for Kenya after getting one-on-one with the goalkeeper but fired directly at the custodian while he also helped out defensively whenever his side were on the backfoot.
Unlike before, there was also purpose to Kenya’s game with a better organised defence, a three-man midfield that made life difficult for Qatar, especially in the first half, and a front three of Olunga, Masoud Juma and Elvis Rupia.
17:48 - 07.09.2023
FOOTBALL Harambee Stars line up: Three-man attack as Olunga, Rupia & Masoud Juma start
Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat has gone for an all-out attack against Qatar in Thursday's friendly match.
The introduction of specialist wide men Ayub Timbe and Amos Nondi injected much pace and power into Kenya’s attack and should have given coach Engin Firat food for though ahead of their next friendly match against South Sudan.