Wasteful Kenya edge Liberia in Kasarani friendly

Winger Paul Were scored a contested 53rd minute goal as Harambee Stars edged Liberia's 'Lone Star' with a slender 1-0 win in an international friendly match at the Safaricom Stadium, Kasarani on Tuesday.

Were sneaked into the box unmarked and calmly slotted the ball past Liberia's custodian Tony Songo amidst protests of offside from the visitors. It took the intervention of the Liberia's technical bench and match officials for play to resume.

The win hauled Stars unbeaten run to eight games on the trot; four draws and four wins, but the team will have to make a serious post-mortem on their wastefulness and lethargy in front of goal.

The Stanley Okumbi coached side should have won the match with a chastening margin but in either side of the half, they fluffed numerous chances to the disbelief of the hundreds of fans on the terraces.

Okumbi made changes in the squad that faced Mozambique at the same venue on Saturday with Aboud Omar, Paul Were and Ayub Timbe all claiming starting berths.

Stars had a stormy start with Timbe in his characteristic style, tormenting the visitors with his artistry down the right channel creating an early chance in the third minute but was thwarted, before skipper Victor Wanyama skied the rebound.

David 'Calabar' Owino also came close hitting the inside of the woodwork in the 14th minute in a goalmouth melee as Stars scrambled to get an opener before Olunga was flagged offside.

As the Stars upped their attacks, left back Aboud Omar, who plies his trade with Slava Sofia in Bulgaria, was set through on the left wing dashing into the six-yard box but the end product was awful.

"I am happy with the win despite only one goal. We wasted several chances. The forward line were not sharp because we missed six clear chances," Okumbi said in his post-match interview.

His opposite number, James Debbah slammed the officiating which he termed as ‘bad’.

“This is an international friendly and I'm surprised (by officiating)."

Dominant as they were, lead striker Michael Olunga cut a dejected figure upfront, with no clear supply of the ball before being substituted in the second half for Jesse Were, while Victor Wanyama, Aboud Omar and Joackins Atudo created room for Anthony Akumu,Eric Ouma and Simon Mbugua respectively.

Stars’ dominance continued after the interval with Eric Johanna, scorer of the Saturday goal, missing a hat trick of chances while Marcelo and substitute Calvin Odongo also spurned point blank chances.

In a bid to stem the tide, Liberia's coach James Debbah made changes bringing in Lemon Kamara and Fallah Sheriff for Dominic Doe and Spog Somah, but they could not unlock the game .

A lapse in concentration nearly proved costly for the Stars in the 76th minute, when Anthony Laffor's long range strike missed the target just inches wide with Kenyan goalie Boniface Oluoch not well positioned.