Kenyans have expressed mixed reactions to Harambee Stars’ win over Chad, which also marked head coach Benni McCarthy’s first victory since he took charge.Follow our WhatsApp channel for more newsHarambee Stars faced Chad on Tuesday, 10 June at the Stade de Marrakech in Morocco and won 2-1 in what was the second of the back-to-back friendlies against the Central African nation.FC Talanta forward Emmanuel Osoro broke the deadlock in the 17th minute in what was his national debut, before fellow debutant David Sakwa added a second in the 45th minute.PLAYER RATINGS: Debutant Osoro steals the spotlight in Harambee Stars’ win over ChadThe win came as a sigh of relief to McCarthy as it gave him his first victory at the fourth time of asking, just hours after pleading for patience from Kenyans.The friendly was part of Kenya’s preparations for the upcoming 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN).Kenyans took to various social media platforms after the match to offer their thoughts, with Mozzart Sport sampling a number for the purposes of this article.##NAJAVA_MECA_8972756##On The Harambee Stars Facebook page, Circle K Safaris was happy that McCarthy finally got off the mark.“My prayers have been answered. After the first match in which we drew, fans were breathing fire, and I told them to give Benni McCarthy a chance to mould a winning team.Now it has been delivered, and if the temple clicks, then these boys will whip teams. Congratulations to the coach and the entire team,” said Safaris.Kenyan forward secures three-month trial with Swedish side“Swaleh Pamba, Emmanuel Osoro and Lewis Bandi are my new players for this match. These guys were very impressive and proved that they deserve to be in the CHAN squad,” Odongo said.His sentiments were similar to James Mbuthia, who backed the coach to do even better.“I am happy for McCarthy. The win was so important to him and how he set up his team going forward. It has reduced the pressure on him and given him time to build something solid,” said Mbuthia.##NAJAVA_MECA_8972724##For Tony Mungai, the confidence drawn from the win is the most important ingredient that the team needed.“Things we love to see…beautiful football. The small mistakes we will adjust over time. We really needed the win to make the team confident.”Adlif James reserved kind words for Australian-based Wilson Lenkupae after his performance in the match.List of complete and incomplete works at Kasarani Stadium [VIDEO]“Lenkupae was unplayable in this match, well done, coach Benny, the free role suits him.”Vincent Ochieng had a different thought altogether. He attributed the win to the fact that there were four players from one team – Gor Mahia.“Harambee Stars played so well. That’s what happens when you go for players who know each other’s game. They trust each other. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8972728##Four players from Gor Mahia formed the spine of the team. Sylvester at the back, Alpha Onyango anchoring the midfield, while Ben Stanley Omondi and Austin being the creative midfielders. Free-flowing football. Picking one player from every team prevents chemistry in the team,” said Ochieng.Moseh Kim was pleased with how local talents performed in the clash, knowing that they are pursuing greener pastures. Joshua ‘Mangulu’ Onyango explains reasons for Gor Mahia’s struggles this season“One thing I like about this homegrown talent is that they always give it their all. They always play knowing they are marketing themselves, unlike the other ones,” stated Kim.Some fans were not impressed by Kenya’s performance despite winning the match. Just like in the first game against Chad, Jole Binger still believes the Kenya U-20 team that competed in AFCON deserved the chance.##NAJAVA_MECA_8972769##“The under-20 side is way better than this team. Save for the defence. Their midfield and attack were more coordinated.”On his part, Amalemba Lucheveleli Jnr did not see the rationale of playing a team of Chad’s calibre.“Playing against a team ranked 177th is an absolute joke and waste of public resources…And we nearly drew both games. We want serious friendlies, otherwise we are headed nowhere,” he remarked.Why FKF approval is mandatory before hosting grassroot tournamentsGatoto Kagiri elucidated the areas that McCarthy must work on going forward.“A lot of work to be done esp on game management; 1. No need to play risky passes while winning. 2. Efficient use of counterattacks. 3. Team play, especially in attack. 4. Use of aerial balls. We did not have an aerial threat and so we did not use the many opportunities from free kicks,” he explained.Emmanuel Onyancha also saw nothing to write home about.##NAJAVA_MECA_8972759##“We congratulate them for our national win, but truth be told, most of the players are below par. Some shine in our league because most of the players in almost all the clubs know each other and are friends, thus making it easy for them to shine.”On X (formerly Twitter), Oduor called for Kenya to play friendlies against the big African boys.“Next friendly, please go for the big boys like Nigeria, Cameroon or Egypt, since the best way to know if you can fly high is by flying with the big boys and learn from their experience. Congratulations on the win,” he said.Joseph Okumu’s advise to Shabana players after surprise visitOn the same platform, Jerracho highlighted areas that need improvement.“Good performance from the team. We can’t take a good corner, lost a lot of second balls in midfield and wasteful with the final pass.”
