Harambee Stars celebrate their first goal. PHOTO/HARAMBEE STARS X
Boniface Muchiri and Ryan Ogam scored as Harambee Stars beat Tanzania 2-0 in their second match of the Mapinduzi Cup at the Gombani Stadium in Zanzibar on Tuesday evening.
After a 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso in their opener on Saturday, interim coach Francis Kimanzi named a more experienced starting XI, introducing the Gor Mahia trio of Austine Odhiambo, Sylvester Owino and Alphonce Omija as well as Tusker Chrispine Erambo.
The first 45 was closely contested, Kenya enjoying the lion’s share of possession at 51 per cent, compared to their hosts.
However, for all the dominance, penetration was hard to come by for both teams, the statistics board indicating only two shots in the half.
Kenya came back livelier in the second half, Kenya Police’s Brian Musa, in particular, pulling the strings in the middle of the park.
Ten minutes after the restart, the visitors got their breakthrough courtesy of Muchiri.
The Ulinzi Stars midfielder rose high to meet Daniel Sakari’s cross from the right, which was deflected off a defender before he volleyed the rebound into the top left corner.
The momentum of the match continued to swing like a pendulum on both sides with the Kilimanjaro Stars fighting to level.
However, all their efforts at a comeback were undone by a defensive mix-up in the 67th minute, which allowed Ogam to sneak it and slot into the net.
It was the maiden international goal for the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League top scorer in his second appearance for the national team.
In the 80th minute, the hosts had a glorious chance to pull one back when a back pass to Stars’ keeper Farouk Shikhalo fell short only for Edgar William’s resultant cross into the box to be smothered by the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) custodian.
The win hoists Kenya to the top of the standings with four points, ahead of Burkina Faso who beat Zanzibar by a solitary strike on Monday.
They next play the hosts on January 11 at the same venue.