Goal against Egypt best thing in my career, says Kenya's Abdallah Hassan

Harambee Stars winger Abdallah Hassan says his goal in Kenya's 1-1 draw with the Pharaohs of Egypt in Thursday’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), Group G qualifier will remain etched in his memory forever.

Hassan, 24, scored in the 65th minute, to cancel out Mohammed Magdy’s second-minute opener for the visitors in the match staged behind closed doors at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi.  

While the Bandari’s man noted that it is sad Stars will not feature in the 2021 Afcon to be held in Cameroon next year from January 9 to February 6, he said scoring against the much-fancied Pharaohs is the best thing in his football career.

He dedicated the goal to his family, whom he reckons have played an important role in his football career.

“My target in the match was to give my best and help my team win. Scoring is the least thing that came to my mind. I am happy I used the chance well when it came my way,” said Hassan.

“I am very happy about the goal because Egypt is a big team and it was the first Afcon qualifiers match that I started. It is a goal that I will always remember.”

The results saw Egypt and Comoros take their points tally at the top of the pool to nine, and book tickets for the 2021 Afcon.

Comoros and Togo had battled to a barren draw in the group’s other match held earlier on Thursday. As a result, Kenya and Togo - who sit third and fourth with four and three points respectively - crashed out of the competition.

The second-half goal was Hassan’s fifth in 11 appearances for Stars.

He made his debut for Harambee Stars in their 1-0 win over Malawi in an international friendly match held in Nairobi on September 11, 2018, against Malawi, and opened his account in their 1-0 win over Taifa Stars of Tanzania in the 2019 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup held in Uganda.

Hassan scored his second and third goals for Stars’ in their identical 2-1 wins over Sudan and Tanzania in the same competition.

The Bandari forward bagged his fourth Harambee Stars goal when he sealed Kenya’s 2-1 win over Taifa Stars in an international friendly match at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi on March 15.

“The goal (against Egypt) has motivated me a lot and my teammates at Bandari. Because we are now out of Afcon, my target is to help Harambee Stars qualify for World Cup,” said Hassan, who before joining the dockers in 2016 turned out for Ziwani Youth (Mombasa), Coast Stima (Mombasa), Uweza Soccer Academy (Kibra, Nairobi) and Posta Rangers Youth.

It is because of the football talent that he managed to complete his secondary education, as Green Palm in Bamburi offered him a football scholarship after he had earlier dropped out of school due to lack of school fees.

Harambee Stars will jet out this weekend for their tie with Togo in a chartered flight and Hassan says that they are going for a win.

“We played very well against Egypt. We want to complete that performance with a win over Togo. Our fans should continue supporting us because there are better things ahead,” he said.