CECAFA: Kenya in a must-win situation

By Reuben Olita

Saturday Group A  Fixtures:

Kenya v South Sudan (4.30pm) Nyayo Stadium

Hosts Harambee Stars of Kenya take on  minnows South Sudan in a must-win-encounter as the GOtv Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup enters the fourth day in Kenya’s capital Nairobi  on Saturday.

Uganda Cranes coach Micho Sredojevic has admitted that his team has no pressure to excel in the tournament but hosts Kenya  who are playing before their partisan fans and who have had years of ill luck.

Kenyan fans have  been patient since 2002 when Harambee Stars last won the  tournament when it was hosted by Tanzania. Since then  east Africa’s leading economy has remained on the periphery of Uganda who have won four out of five last editions.

The  team came close to recovering  their lost glory  in 2008 and 2012 when the event was held in  Uganda  but luck eluded them on both occasion. They  also disappointed their fans when the country last hosted the event in 2009  but Uganda Cranes  beat them in the quarterfinals en route to clinching the title on Kenyan soil.

Kenya started the event on a sour note when they were held by CHAN bound Ethiopia to a goalless draw in the tournament opener on Wednesdsay. The team also received a setback when they paraded the team without head coach  Adel  Amorouche who vanished from the team’s camp without giving any explanation.

The  Algerian-born coach is expected back on the bench Saturday after he agreed to return after  walking out of the team over unpaid allowances. Despite discontent at the team’s camp Football Kenya Federation President Sam Nyamweya  has dismissed  claims of sharp division in the team.

South Sudan who are making their second appearance in the tournament after their debut in Kampala last year look rank outsiders but their fighting spirit against Zanzibar which ended in a 1-2 loss for them is a pointer that they could rise to the occasion and upset the hosts.

Their fight back in the match with Fabiano Elias Lako notching an historic consolation goal could perhaps  be another pointer  of their determination to  put their best shot and stun the hosts knowing that a loss will make them the first team to exit the tournament.

Zanzibar Heroes will want to become the first team to book a ticket for the quarterfinals if they register victory against Ethiopia. It is a match that is likely to go to the wire given the status of the two teams.