Kenya has been crowned the Four Nations Tournament champions after beating Zimbabwe 3-1 on Tuesday at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, Malawi.Stars had to come from behind to overcome an early scar from the South African nation.##NAJAVA_MECA_7986732##Zimbabwe opened the scoring inside three minutes but captain Michael Olunga, on his birthday, was man of the match as he scored a hattrick to hand the nation a first trophy since 2017.Harambee Stars approached the match as favorites considering their form in the competition, but again the Warriors could not be underrated thanks to their heroics in the semi-finals.It took just three minutes for Zimbabwe to hit the back of the net and send their technical bench and a handful of the supporters to cloud nine. Macauley Bonne won the ball from the Warriors’ half and as he drove towards the danger zone cracking the Stars’ defense that had not yet put the right footing in the game.The Cambridge United forward unleashed a cross from the left wing that fell straight at Kenya’s defender Joseph Okumu who turned the ball in his net for the opener.Bandari striker David Sakwa banking on Harambee Stars exposure to bang goals in FKFPLThe Zimbabweans continued to dictate play for the first ten minutes and nearly doubled their lead butt Kenya Police custodian Patrick Matasi, who exhibited calmness throughout the game, was alert keeping them at bay.Determined to turn the proceedings around, Harambee head coach Engin Firat threw in Kenneth Muguna in the 25th minute taking off Tusker’s Christopher Erambo in a bid to add more creativity to his side.Norman Mapeza’s charges became a pale shadow of themselves in the first ten minutes as Kenya grew in the game with Ayub Timbe and Vincent Mahiga frequently troubling Zimbabwe’s back four.The Warriors had decided to sit back and defend the lead but an epic combination on the right flank between Mahiga and Timbe left them vulnerable with the former curling a cross from the right to find Captain Olunga who was at a strategic place to head home a leveler for Kenya with a minute left to the break.F.TMABINGWAAAAAAAA!!! 🏆Tumecheza Kibingwaa🇿🇼 1-3 🇰🇪#HarambeeStars pic.twitter.com/jdFdkXjpp4— Harambee Stars (@Harambee__Stars) March 26, 2024 Stars started the second half strongly with equal vigor as they ended the first stanza in search of the lead but a scuffle in the 50th minute slowed down Kenya’s efforts. Zimbabwe’s inability to control their temper after led to the dismal of their assistant coach and defender Teenage Hadebe for a second bookable offense.Olunga scored Kenya’s second goal in the 63rd minute with a calm finish inside the penalty area latching on a rebounded ball after Donovan Bernard failed to handle Rooney Onyango’s shot and split just in front of Stars skipper.In the 73rd minute, Kenya was reduced to ten men after Richard Odada got the marching order following a second yellow card.Luanda Villa coach Tera keen to end Naivas’s impressive runThe hard-fighting Stars was rewarded for their pressing in the 87th minute. Olunga calmly controlled the ball outside the 18-yard box before unleashing a long-range shot to silence the crowd at Bingu.Kenyan coach Firat then rested Onyango, Masika, and Mahiga bringing in AFC Leopards assistant captain Kaycie Odhiambo for his second national team appearance alongside Collins Sichenje and John Avire.
