The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Charles Nyende
2 December 2011
Nairobi — Tension eased in the Harambee Stars camp on Thursday after Kenya’s first victory in the Tusker Cecafa Challenge Cup.Team captain Pascal Ochieng, a surprise exclusion from the KPL player of the year award nominees’ list, expressed relief after securing a win under great pressure.
“The Ethiopia match was very important.
“It was our lifeline in the competition and we knew losing would have meant the end of our campaign,” Ochieng said on Thursday.
“We played with conviction and determination but that match is over now and we need to focus on our match against Sudan.”This is a group of death and we need to be at our best,” the Rangers FC defender added.
Bob Mugalia, one of the four surviving members of Stars’ squad that made an embarrassing exit at last year’s tournament, led from the front to score Kenya’s first goal in their 2-0 victory over Ethiopia.
The Congolese-turned-Kenyan seems a favourite of many, going by the number of congratulatory messages on his Facebook page.”Bob, hiyo bao yako imetung’arisha juu zaidi,” – Bob, your goal has made us shine – one fan expressed his joy.
For Kenya coach Francis Kimanzi, it was business as usual as he took the team through a training session at dawn yesterday and later in the afternoon at the Tanzania Football Federation grounds.
Kimanzi is acutely aware qualification to the knock-out stage is far from assured.Kenya lie second in the group with three points and must beat third-placed Sudan (two points) to guarantee passage to the quarter-finals.
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