PLAYER RATINGS: Blunt Harambee Stars fail to sparkle against lowly Lesotho

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Reading Time: 1min | Thu. 04.06.26. | 19:11

The two nations will meet once more in a second friendly slated for Sunday, 7 June at the same venue

Kenya senior men's national football team - Harambee Stars - on Thursday, 4 June surrendered a first-half lead to settle for a 1-1 draw with African minnows Lesotho at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in South Africa.

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Gor Mahia defender Frank Odhiambo gave Benni McCarthy's side a dream start with a goal in the 12th minute, only for the Crocodiles to capitalise on a poorly defended setpiece to score a 70th-minute equaliser through Thabo Makhele.

Harambee Stars extend 33-year wait for victory against Lesotho after drab draw

In this piece, we look at how individual players performed in a match that will not last long in the memory:

Farouk ShikaloGoalkeeper

Did not have much to deal with during his 69 minutes of action, with Kenya dictating much of the play.

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Rooney OnyangoDefense

Was asked to bomb forward against sitting ducks, but that often left his defensive duties exposed, as Lesotho used the space down the right wing to initiate danger.

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Frank OdhiamboDefense

Would easily end up being Kenya's best player on the day. Was composed and immense as ever in defense, and contributed on the other end with Kenya's only goal of the game.

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Sylvester OwinoDefense

Like his fellow Gor Mahia partner Frank, Owino held his ground to great effect, and on ocassions pushed forward to inject urgency, while closing in on the left to offer Stanley Wilson some support.

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Stanley WilsonMidfield

In his newly-found left back position, the youngster was steady in possession, but was highly targeted by Lesotho, who used long balls and quick wingers against him to great effect. One such instance soiled his rather decent outing, as his foul on an advancing man at the edge of the box gifted the hosts an equaliser.

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Richard OdadaMidfield

Had an average game in midfield, before being hooked off at halftime.

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Clarke OduorMidfield

Enjoyed another run-out under McCarthy, but left no huge impression in the first half. He would sit out the entire second half.

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Mohammed BajaberAttack

All-action as you would expect on the left wing, and on any other day, a goal and an assist would have been attached to his name. Needed to be more sharper.

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Zech ObieroMidfield

Could not replicate his sensational outing in March, and felt a tad slower and ineffective in his 45 minutes of play. He will regret missing a late chance in the first half, when he was through on goal.

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Benstanley OmondiMidfield

Was on this game asked to dual up his offensive duties while providing cover for Rooney, and did a fairly decent job. Against a stacked defense, he will however wish to have moved the ball quicker.

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Lawrence OkothAttack

For his pace and frame, which he used to great effect on the day, clinicality looks to be missing from Lawrence, who, on the back of the March friendlies, was again blunt upfront, despite having multiple chances to test the Lesotho keeper.

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Austin OdhiamboAttack

Was introduced at the break and turned out to be Kenya's go-to man. His movement and combination play needed to be rewarded.

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Chris EramboMidfield

Also came in at halftime, but did not majorly influence the game. He was instead a victim of losing possession in his own half early on.

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William LenkupaeMidfield

Will take McCarthy lots of words to convince Kenyans on his place in the team. His second half entry created little to no effect on the Lesotho defense, who deployed a high-line trap on him.

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Micah ObieroAttack

Came in for his national team debut with less than 20 minutes to go, and would have made it a memorable one, had he not conspired to place his left-footed strike wide, late on.

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Caleb KramerGoalkeeper

Was so unfortunate to concede within seconds of his national team debut. Hard to argue the case he would have done better with the equalizer, as a poorly defended freekick smacked the foot of the post, only to ricochet off a defender into an empty net.

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Erick OumaDefense

Made a worthy return to the national team after overcoming his injury. He however had little time to impact the game, despite bursting forward on several instances.

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