Kenya U20 men’s national team assistant coach Anthony Akhulia refused to put blame on the officiating following his side’s 3-2 loss to Morocco in the opening game of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Thursday night in Cairo, Egypt.Akhulia, who stood in front of the mics in place of head coach Salim Babu, instead termed Rising Stars’ defeat on their continental showpiece debut “unfortunate”, pointing to Kenya’s inefficiencies on both ends of the pitch.FULL TIME!🇰🇪 2-3 🇲🇦 #RisingStars #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 pic.twitter.com/kuF0Zwcq0E— Harambee Stars (@Harambee__Stars) May 1, 2025 On a historic night at the 30 June Stadium, Lawrence Ouma gave Kenya the lead in the 16th minute, heading in a delightful freekick from Kevin Wangaya, before Morocco equalized through Yassir Zabiri.The Famalicão winger turned the tables around for the North Africans 10 minutes after the break, only for AFC Leopards winger Hassan Beja to level the scores once again, setting up a tense final 20 minutes.The winner came with 12 minutes left on the clock, when Reda Laalaoui pounced on a loose ball inside the box to condemn Kenya to an opening day defeat.Watch 📽Rising Stars lost 3-2 to Morocco in their opening Group B match at the U-20 tournament. They play their second game against Tunisia on Sunday, May 4. A win is crucial to keep their hopes of progressing alive pic.twitter.com/zi21vIuV1o— Mozzart Sport Kenya (@MozzartSportKe) May 2, 2025 Speaking on his team’s display, Akhulia said: “We played well, it’s unfortunate that we lost the match. We created numerous scoring chances that we didn’t really take.”The Bidco United coach pointed concerns about Kenya’s defending, attributing all Morocco goals to their slow reaction.“We didn’t defend well. We gave in,” Akhulia said. “Looking at the way we conceded two goals, the defense was caught napping, and we really didn’t react quickly to situations. I can call them cheap goals.” PLAYER RATINGS: Kevin Wangaya dazzles in Kenya U20’s valiant defeat to MoroccoThough with a bucket load of goals, the game also had its own fair share of controversy, with center referee Akhona Makalima needing the aid of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to award two goals for Morocco.The first instance saw the South African official overturn her off pitch decision – for a supposed foul on skipper Amos Wanjala – to award Zabiri his first goal, before failing to go to the monitor to review a foul in the buildup, instead awarding Morocco their winning goal.What’s your take on South African referee Akhona Zennith Makalima’s performance today?#AFCONU20 pic.twitter.com/WP3cQoYJeZ— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) May 1, 2025 Asked about the game’s officiating, Akhulia said: “I won’t really comment on it, but I think the referee did her work. On our side, we were supposed to take our chances and win. We were supposed to win the match. That’s my take.”Kenya, now third in Group B, will need to win the rest of their pool matches to get a chance at the knockouts.They play Tunisia next on Sunday 4 May (1800 EAT).##NAJAVA_MECA_8899844##
