And so it happened. Kenya’s long sold dream of making it to the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup were completely dashed following the 0-1 defeat at the hands of Mali in the two teams’ second leg qualifying fixture played at Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday evening. Harambee Stars player ratings against MaliPerhaps, the positive from the game was that we did not concede a similar number of goals to the 5-0 thrashing handed to us in the first leg staged in Morocco only three days before the return leg. But what made the headlines from the second leg fixture?A spirited performance by the Stars but ultimately a game of missed chances. We created but did not finish. Our youthful team will emerge stronger.F.T🇰🇪 0-1🇲🇱 🇲🇱 Ibrahim Kone#Tunaweza pic.twitter.com/9Zd7XS8XgA— Harambee Stars (@Harambee__Stars) October 10, 2021 Spotlight on OlungaSome say it is the armband curse. Some say the team is not playing to his strengths. Whatever they all say, they all concur that the Michael Olunga that has showed up for Kenya in recent times is not the Engineer we all know. Partly, the fault is his. Partly, the fault is the teams’.Just how many balls did the 2015 Kenyan Footballer of the Year and the 2020 Japanese Most Valuable Player and Top Scorer receive in the game? What effort did Olunga himself make to make his imposing presence felt? To both questions the answer is not available.Tusker man Muchiri does well on the left, wins the ball then sends the cross to Olunga, whose header is on its way to Lucky Summer now…— Japheth Mutinda (@JaphMutinda) October 7, 2021 It is an open secret that Olunga is our best striking talent currently, but if him and the team cannot work together when needed the most, then what? Joseph Okumu tried playing directly to him, on the number of times that the long balls actually found him, but no concrete play resulted from all occasions. Olunga needs help and service. Without those two, we will keep oscillating between the armband curse and harsh criticism on Olunga.Marcelo flourishes at right back position, silenced Southampton aceAfter a torrid right back selection in the first leg against Mali where Joash Onyango was picked over the usual suspects before being shockingly replaced by Abdallah Hassan, the technical bench opted to use left back Erick ‘Marcelo’ Ouma on the opposite channel.In the national team setup, that bold decision could have been the first for the dimunitive defender who has slotted in that position for his Swedish club AIK. But boy did he excel. Up against Southampton’s fleet footed Moussa Djenepo, the former Gor Mahia man showed his versatility as he kept out the winger from having an effect for large parts of the game.Marcelo ameshika Djenepo na wenzake kama super glue.— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) October 10, 2021 The only downside to having him in the right back position was the absence of his idiosyncratic marauding runs down the left flank that maybe, just maybe, could have produced a good cross for Olunga to feed on.Brian Bwire’s distribution is a thing of beautyAfter three years of waiting, Tusker goalkeeper Brian Bwire finally made his national team debut for the Harambee Stars in the loss to Mali. Bwire earned his maiden call up to the team back in 2018 when former coach Sébastien Migne plucked him from the Kariobangi Sharks bench where he was the third choice goalkeeper and began grooming him to jostle for the Kenya one.Bwire elated by Harambee Stars debut three years after first call upAfter an injury to preferred Ian Otieno, the youngster was handed his debut ahead of 2020/2021 Golden Glove winner James Saruni and Tanzanian based Faruk Shikalo. It has to be said he did not have much to do and when he had, a combination of poor defensive awareness cost him a cherry on the cake moment as Ibrahima Kone hammered in the game’s only goal that denied him a debut clean sheet.That aside, his distribution was perfect! He launched quick balls forward with extreme precision to turn the Mali players racing backwards, a strength that if honed properly and drilled into the side could be a tactic to create chances with just less than five touches on the ball.Tusker FC goalkeeper Brian Bwire finally made his national team debut for Harambee Stars in the 0-1 loss to Mali after nearly 3 years.Bwire earned his maiden call up to the team back in 2018 when then head coach Sebastien Migne picked him from the benches. Patience. pic.twitter.com/FRkkfly27t— OptaKe (@ke_opta) October 11, 2021 Richard Odada gives Mali joy in the middle of the parkThe budding heir to Victor Wanyama’s throne gave away possession too cheaply in occasions that really could have been dealt with better. He had a lot of options most times but his dilly dally on the ball welcomed pressure on him from the Malians who regained possession ever too cheaply from him. That was perhaps the downside to his game. His clever turns in the middle of the park and his body feints were otherwise a brilliant watch.It’s only Richard Odada who is making an impact at midfield on this team. He’s carrying us.#HarambeeStars— Louis_Nexus (@louisnexusdrax) October 10, 2021 ‘Starboy’ Abdalla Hassan loses his shineIn the first leg, Hassan was slotted in an unfavoured right back position when he replaced Joash after 33 minutes and he directly cost the team two of the three goals conceded.In the second leg, the Bandari man was slotted in his preferred right wing position. Despite finding himself free and in areas that could cause a lot of damage, the Bandari winger left a lot to be desired for a player plying his trade in the top tier, much to the outrage of netizens were having none of it.The frustrating thing was that it did not happen once. Like Oliver Tree’s song says, it went on and on and on. Urgh! I gather he has still not made up his mind.Abdallah Hassan’s decision making is wanting… He’s toying with the Mali left back but hajui Cha kufanyia ball.— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) October 10, 2021
