Fourth time lucky for McCarthy as Harambee Stars beat lowly Chad

At times in football and sport generally, what matters most is the result. For Kenya's Harambee Stars, this rings especially true.

Following three unsuccessful attempts at winning a game of football, the Harambee Stars finally got on the board with a 2-1 win over Chad last night at the Marrakech Annexe in Morocco.

Kenya's goals were scored by Emmanuel Osoro and David Sakwa, who scored in each half to give the Harambee Stars and form 2-0 lead.

Head coach Benni McCarthy had complained about the national team players failing to take their opportunities during their first friendly over the weekend, and Osoro rectified the anomaly on 18 minutes.

He benefited from a well-designed team move to slot in Ben Stanley’s low cross inside the box. 1-0 to Kenya.

Right on 45 minutes, Osoro turned provider as the FC Talanta forward collected a fine pass from Austin Odhiambo on the left to hand David Sakwa an easy finish for the second; 2-0 to Kenya at halftime.

Chad, ranked 177, 66 places below Kenya, raised their tempo in the second half, and duly registered on the scoresheet when Ali Mahamat slid the ball past Farouk Shikhalo from a Youssef Musa pass just after the 60-minute mark to cancel the deficit. 2-1 on the night.

Moussa had another opportunity to equalise but failed to do so, and with a few minutes left on the clock, Casimir Ninga also had an opportunity but failed to take it as the game ended 2-1 in Harambee Stars' favour to McCarthy's relief.

Ultimately, it was an eventful but important friendly test for the Stars, who can gain some experience as they prepare to co-host the African Nations Championships CHAN from August 2 to 30.