The Rising Stars needed goals from AFC Leopards' Christopher Koloti and former Kenya U18 star Syphas Owuor to beat a spirited Tusker Youth.
Kenya U20 head coach Salim Babu has expressed admiration for the Tusker Youth team’s performance after the two sides faced off in a friendly match staged at the KCB Sports Club on Thursday afternoon.
Tusker Youth lost 2-1, with the Rising Stars scoring through Christopher Koloti and Syphas Owuor in either half, while the Brewers Youth team’s goal was scored by Joseph Kirantu in the second half.
Stars U20 scored the opener midway through the first half, Koloti rising to head home a corner from Ezekiel Omuri. In the second half, Tusker had a good show offensively and they could have drawn level but wasted several chances.
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Owuor scored the second for the Kenya junior team off a counter, shooting low past keeper Salim Andale from the right.
But Tusker Youth upped the ante and pulled one back through Kirantu’s delightful finish quarter of an hour to the end.
“They gave us a really good game. They are a good team, well coached and really physically present,” Babu said after the match.
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“That is the kind of opposition we wanted because that is the exact kind of opposition we would come up against. We needed the boys to toughen up a bit and the Tusker Youth team gave us that kind of a challenge,” he added,
Tusker Youth assistant coach Peter ‘Coach PK’ Kariuki was also delighted with the performance of the team, saying they showed their worth against a worthy opponent - the national team - with players practically within their age group.
“It was such a good exposure for these young boys because they really need it. They have picked their lessons, they have also shown what we can do and we are really satisfied with what they gave today,” Kariuki said.
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“We started a bit shaky probably because of a bit of stage fright but once we got into the game, we had a good performance. We have also picked areas we need to improve on as a team and that is really the essence of such friendly matches.”
Rising Stars will be facing the Malawi U20 side in their next encounter.
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