Moses Shumah fires Harambee Stars past Pakistan

Moses Shumah scored on his full debut for Kenya as Engin Firat's charges beat Pakistan 1-0 in the four-nation tournament in Mauritius.

The Kakamega Homeboyz striker, who was donning the national colours for the first time in his career,  pounced on a loose ball inside the area to slot home the lone goal of the match on 18 minutes at the Cóte d'Or National Complex, Saint-Pierre.

This was the first meeting in football between the two nations. Pakistan, who are best known for their cricket, are currently ranked 195th in the world by Fifa, with their best position in the standings coming in February 1993 when they were ranked 141.

Kenya's worst ranking was in July 2007 when they dropped to 137.

Harambee Stars are currently placed at position 102, with the country's best ranking coming in December 2008 when they climbed to 68th in the world under coach Francis Kimanzi.

Kenya will now play hosts Mauritius on Sunday in their last match in the competition.

At the Cóte d'Or National Complex on Wednesday, Shumah almost doubled Stars' lead on 30 minutes but his effort from Daniel Sakari’s cross went out for a corner.

Stars dominated the entire first half but did not punish the Asians.

Pakistan's only chance in the first half came in the 40th minute when Sufyan Mohamed made a good delivery inside the box but captain Hassan Bashir struck inches wide.

In the second half, Pakistan were the better team but could not breach stars' backline.

Firat made two changes with Sakari and Shumah making way for Clifton Miheso and Anyembe in the 61 st and 74th minutes respectively.

“We played well and had a lot of possession. It was a good game for us and I expect more from the boys in our last match against Mauritius,” said Firat in his post match.

His Pakistan counterpart, Shahzad Anwar, lauded his boys for playing well and not conceding many goals.

Harambee Stars midfielder Richard Odada, who plies his trade with Philadelphia Union in the Major Soccer League, was named the Man of the Match.

 “We have a small team and had a better game against Kenya, had better chances but we lost 1-0. Now our focus is on how we shall plan to play Djibouti and get a win. The way we played showed we are taking the right steps in football,” said Anwar. 

Odada said he yearns to achieve more with the national team.

“We came late for this tournament but played well and were relaxed. As for me I just came to give my best for this team and I’m happy for this award that I have got today. Now we will be playing Mauritius in our next match and should give our best in that game,” said Odada.

Harambee Stars missed their first match last Sunday against Djibouti after travelling late due to logistical issues.