Butali coach Dennis Owoka has observed that the national men’s team will have to tighten their defensive and play as a unit if they are to better their results in the ongoing 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games qualifiers.
Owoka’s comments come in the wake of Kenya’s third consecutive defeat in the tournament that started on Monday in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Ghana ralied from behind following Kenya’s 2-1 lead in the third quarter to win 4-2, inflicting Kenya with their first loss in the six-team event.
Subsequent losses to Egypt and Zimbabwe have left the Kenyan team with little or no hopes of qualifying for next year’s Tokyo event.
Against Egypt, Kenya’s reckless defending, lack of teamwork and commitment saw them ship in seven goals against the tournament’s dark horses.
By the 7th minute, Kenya had a mountainous task, trailing the North Africans by 3-0. 2-0 defeat in the hands of pre-tournament’s weakest team Zimbabwe left a sour test in the playing unit as Kenya prepares to take on red-hot South Africa today.
With results hard to come by and wanting confidence, Owoka thinks Kenya have to be smart defensively to avoid further unwanted results.
He said: “Having watched the previous matches against Ghana and Egypt with keen interest, we need to better our defensive executions. Robert Masibo and Constance Wakhura have done well but playing as a unit in the department will be vital in the remaining two matches. Players need to regroup themselves and soldier on confidently.”
“The players were never stable. Inexperience also played a role in the poor run. Okeyo alone cannot stand for the team. As a whole, the team looked short of ideas with passing the ball our weakest point. We need to have a game plan because the players looked out of position and confused on formation. Under-performing players should be dropped to give the team a much needed renewed energy.”
A 9-0 morale-boosting win for the hosts against Ghana will be clear in the minds of Kenya as they try to guard off their reputation.
Kenya will also hope to sign out in style in tomorrow’s meeting with Namibia. As things stand, South Africa and Egypt will battle for the single continental slot to the Games.
