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Former Harambee Stars player Elijah Onsika has qurried the selection criteria used by coach Engin Firat in Kenya's loss to Cameroon.
Former Harambee Stars player Elijah Onsika has attributed Kenya's disappointing 4-1 loss to Cameroon in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier to a deficiency in creativity and confidence among the players.
Kenya crumbled on Friday night as Cameroon cruised to a 4-1 win, to give them an advantage ahead of the second leg encounter.
Cameroon's Vincent Aboubakar converted from the spot to give the Indomitable Lions the lead before Martin Hongla doubled it.
Captain Olunga reduced the the goal deficit for Kenya but hopes of a comeback were soon thwarted as Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Bassogog ensured a 4-1 victory for Cameroon to send them top of Group J with seven points.
Onsika now believes that Kenya's woes on the night was down to a lack of creativity and coordination on the pitch.
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12:45 - 12.10.2024
Fuming Engin Firat lashes out at referee’s language switch in post-match rant after Cameroon defeat
Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat has criticized refereeing decisions following Harambee Stars' 4-1 loss to Cameroon in AFCON qualifiers.
“I knew it was going to be a disastrous outing for Kenya because the opening two matches against Zimbabwe and Namibia exposed our weaknesses but again the display against Cameroon went from worse to shambolic, it was zero effort from the boys, they simply got what they asked for,” said Onsika via Fashscore
“The boys passed the ball blindly and had no coordination at all and after I watched the game, I concluded that we lacked the confidence, creativity and teamwork to trouble the African giants. We deserved the thrashing and couldn’t have picked any better result than what we got," he added.
Onsika questioned head coach Engin Firat's first XI picks, asserting that some positions should not have been tinkered with.
“The coach (Firat) gambled with the game, for example, why did he start [Patrick] Matasi instead of [Bryne] Omondi," inquired Onsika.
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Matasi who had come in for Byrne Omondi, who impressed against Namibia ad Zimbabwe, failed to live up to expectations, fumbling the ball into his own net for Cameroon's second goal and being out for the fourth.
Amos Nondi, who played at right-back on the day was exposed, prompting Onsika to question Firat for starting him out of position.
"Why did he start with two right-backs (Nondi and Anyembe) and dropped experienced Okumu to the bench?"
Onsika believes Kenya, who are third in Group J on four points, three behind leaders Cameroon and one above Zimbabwe, have a hard task of winning the return leg on Monday, October 14 to get back in contention.
“If they must qualify, Kenya will need a win against Zimbabwe and Namibia, they must beat Zimbabwe and Namibia and hope Cameroon beats Zimbabwe to take second place. It looks like Cameroon will run away with the top spot, so what is remaining is the second spot which Zimbabwe seem to be fighting for, so it will be a great end to the group.”
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