Stars coach Firat issues rallying call as Cameroon lie in wait

Harambee Stars coach, Engin Firat has urged his players to play better and reverse the heavy defeat his team suffered on Friday when Kenya hosts Cameroon in the reverse fixture of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers Monday.

Kenya will host the Indomitable Lions today at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala from 4pm (Kenyan time) behind closed doors. Stars suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat in the first leg match played at the 42,000-seater Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon.

“We have to change how we played. We have to be aggressive, even though my team was not used to playing in front of the crowd which was in Cameroon. In this game, I’m hopeful of a positive result,” said Firat.

The Group ‘J’ match will be played behind closed doors.

Stars have been camping in Kampala since arriving in Uganda on Saturday after Friday’s loss to five-time African champions Cameroon, and will all be out to redeem themselves following  the heavy defeat that elicited angry reaction from fans back in Nairobi.

“In the second half, we played better and in this fixture (today’s match), we have to change what we did wrong, and defend better. We must wake up and perform better,”  the 54-year-old Turkish coach told journalists yesterday in Kampala.

In the first leg match, Firat came under heavy criticism with regard to his squad selection. Notably,  Firat dropped KCB goalkeeper Bryne Omondi for Patrick Matasi, and it backfired as Matasi made costly mistakes in the game.

Omondi was in goal when Kenya ground out a barren draw against Zimbabwe in a Group ‘J’ match played on September 6 at Mandela National Stadium, the venue of today’s match.

On September 10, Omondi produced a man-of-the-match performance when Kenya beat Namibia 2-1 at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.

Today, fans will be watching to see whether Firat sticks with Matasi, or hands Omondi a starting berth against Cameroon.

Cameroon dominated the midfield and attack, and Kenya will have to improve by a big margin if they are to match the Indomitable Lions in the two departments. Saudi Arabia-based Christian Bassogog, Carlos Balega and Martin Hongla combined well to overrun Kenya’s midfield, and teed up the ball for evergreen Vincent Aboubakar to unleash powerful shots.

Kenya’s Richard Odada was the main culprit in the first leg, and will have to improve to manage the Cameroonians who were lethal in attack and commanded the midfield.

Firat can also opt to play Jonah Ayunga together with captain Michael Olunga in attack and Stars could cash in on set pieces, which seemed to trouble Cameroon’s defenders.

Ahead of the clash, Cameroon’s camp was divided, with coach Marc Marc Brys threatening to resign after Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) had omitted the name of his assistant, Joachim Mununga, from the official match sheet in the game against Kenya.

“I am extremely angry. We had started working well together with Fecafoot, but I was shocked to see my assistant’s name was missing from the official match commissioner’s list. I was furious. Let me warn you, if this happens again, I will quit,” said Brys.

“My assistant was categorical that it is a sign of disrespect to him, and he threatened to resign. I need to discuss it with him. If it happens again, I will leave the team,” Brys added.