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BENNI MCCARTHY TEATS TO KENYA'S SIX-GOAL THRILLER AGAINST GAMBIA AS BAFANA BAFANA LEGEND AVOUDS DEFEAT ON INTERNATIONAL COACHING DEBUT - 'VERY STRESSFUL. NOT HAPPY '

FKF

The former Cape Town City trainer began his journey as a national team coach on Thursday.

Harambee Stars during a training session

WHAT HAPPENED?

Kenya came back from behind to force a 3-3 draw with Gambia in a 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier Group F match at Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara on Thursday.

It was Benni McCarthy's first match as Kenya coach and his debut leading a national side.

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WHAT MCCARTHY SAID

“Very stressful, not happy, but listen for the neutral it was very entertaining, lots of goals, that you don’t usually see in a game of football in World Cup qualifiers, but I think the two teams eliminated each other in the opening half,” McCarthy said as per iDiksi Times.

“We had brilliant opportunities with our captain Michael, one of the easiest he would get, he doesn’t take it with the header then straight after that, Gambia got into the game with some good momentum and were awarded a penalty. 

“Then we thought okay 1-0 up, they controlled the game a bit better – I think at the break it was a fair reflection of the game… second half was really bizarre, crazy, not sure if it was the altitude, heat or something got to us," added the former AmaZulu coach. 

“We made two errors in defence and if you grant Gambia that chance, with the players they have, they usually accurate in front of goal, and it 2-0 up many think it’s over, so I changed things around with some fresher legs, because most players only arrived on Tuesday from Europe with one day of training together.

“We got given a penalty, I’m not sure to say it’s soft but if it was given to them I would have been furious, so I can imagine how their coach feels – happy to receive it, captain steps up and scores, gave us hope and made us really start [playing], we looked like we’d score next and then a fantastic individual effort from Muhamed [Bajaber], a young player I’ve given an opportunity from out of nowhere," he continued.

“He took the goal exceptionally well – we thought there was momentum to control the game but then another rookie mistake – but like I said, one training session with the team, the organisation and communication isn’t there yet. 

“They got the 3-2 with six, seven minutes to go with a counter, where we should have scored, so I think it was a brilliant effort of the team [to draw]. Fortunately, the boys had a lot of fight, character and personality to fight until the end.

“Overall, a draw doesn’t help either team but I will take it as my first game in charge, happy with the point after a few days as coach of Kenya national team," the ex-FC Porto star went on.

“The positivity I see gives me a bit of hope that after another day or two, trainings we can squeeze in before the game against Gabon, gives me hope we can go one step better than today.”

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

After earning themselves a point, it did not count much for Kenya who remain fourth in Group F in these qualifiers.

They have six points fewer than log leaders Gabon.

That leaves McCarthy with a tall order to guide the Harambee Stars to World Cup qualification.

WHAT NEXT FOR KENYA?

Kenya look to pick their second win of Group F when they host Gabon in Nairobi on Sunday.

It would be McCarthy's second match in charge of the Harambee Stars and playing at home gives him pressure to win.

 - Michael Madyira

 

PREMIER LEAGUE: KAORU MITOMA, YANKUBA MINTEH POWER BRIGHTON TO 3-0 WIN OVER CHELSEA

Brighton and Hove Albion dented Chelsea’s hopes of a top-four finish with a 3-0 win over the Blues in the English Premier League on Friday night. Yankuba Minteh scored a brace whereas Kaoru Mitoma netted a stunner.

Brighton defeated Chelsea 3-0 in the English Premier League to dent the Blues' hopes of a top-four finish. AP
 

 Enzo Maresca admitted Chelsea’s dismal 3-0 defeat at Brighton was the “worst performance” of his reign as Japan forward Kaoru Mitoma produced a contender for Premier League goal of the season on Friday. Maresca’s hapless side failed to muster a shot on target in their second defeat in the space of seven days at the Amex Stadium.

Mitoma scored the winner when Brighton knocked Chelsea out of the FA Cup fourth round with a 2-1 victory last weekend. He tormented the Blues again with a breathtaking piece of skill in the first half before Gambia winger Yankuba Minteh netted either side of the interval.

Maresca, in his first season in charge after arriving from Leicester, said this week that Chelsea “belong” in the Champions League, with the club setting him the target of qualifying within two years. But Chelsea’s third defeat in their last four games in all competitions was another blow to their hopes of finishing in the top four.

“I feel pressure always, not only now, but tonight the performance we can say was the worst performance since I arrived,” Maresca said.

With this result the frustration is with everything. We feel really sorry for the fans who came here.” Maresca will have to find a solution to Chelsea’s chronically error-prone defence if the fourth-placed Blues, two points ahead of Manchester City and Newcastle, are to achieve their target this term.

“When you play this kind of game, the situation we are in, and you perform in the way we did tonight there are many things you can do better,” Maresca said.

“It is not only mentally. When you play these games in the moment we are, where you can make the gap bigger to the ones behind us and you perform like we did tonight, there are many things that we need to do better. But we are still fourth and we are still in the race to finish well.”

Thrashed 7-0 at Nottingham Forest in their previous league game, Brighton had won only two of their previous 12 top-flight matches. The Seagulls have got back on track at Chelsea’s expense with a pair of impressive wins.

Palmer out of sorts

After beginning the season with six goals in his first seven league games, Cole Palmer had netted eight times, two from the penalty spot, in the following 17 matches in the competition. Chelsea had slipped from early title contenders to top four hopefuls since Palmer’s red-hot start turned colder.

Palmer again looked out of sorts on the south-coast as he blazed over from the edge of the area, then scuffed wide from Noni Madueke’s cross. Madueke limped off injured moments later to add to Chelsea’s growing injury woes.

There was worse to come for Maresca in the 27th minute as Brighton took the lead in eye-catching fashion. Bart Verbruggen’s long goal-kick was superbly controlled by Mitoma with a remarkably deft touch as it dropped over his shoulder.

That was just the start of Mitoma’s magical moment as he adroitly rolled the ball away from Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah and planted a fine low finish into the far corner from the edge of the area. Chelsea threatened an immediate equaliser but Enzo Fernandez’s header from Malo Gusto’s cross was ruled out for the midfielder’s blatant push.

Even that near miss was a false dawn for Chelsea as Brighton struck again in the 38th minute. Conceding possession deep into their own half, sloppy Chelsea were unable to recover as Danny Welbeck teed up Minteh, who evaded Marc Cucurella before drilling home from close-range.

Maresca’s men were in disarray at the back and Brighton made it three in the 63rd minute. After Chelsea appealed in vain for a foul on Levi Colwill by Welbeck, the forward found Minteh and he danced past Cucurella to score with a fierce strike from eight yards.

 - Agence France-Presse

GUINEA 0-2 SENEGAL - ABDOULAYE SECK AND ILIMAN NDIAYE GOALS SEND SENEGAL THROUGH WITH PERFECT RECORD, CAMEROON SNEAK IN

Abdoulaye Seck and Iliman Ndiaye scored as Senegal beat Guinea 2-0 in their final group match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Cameroon's dramatic 3-2 win over The Gambia means they go through as the second-place team but Guinea will still go through as the one of the best third-place teams in the group stage. Senegal maintain a perfect record.

Senegal secured top spot in Group C at the Africa Cup of Nations following a 2-0 victory over Guinea.

The reigning champions progress to the knockout stages with a 100 per cent record after second-half goals from Abdoulaye Seck and Iliman Ndiaye sealed maximum points at Stade de Yamoussoukro.

Following a stop-start first half, Senegal took the lead just after the hour mark when Seck powerfully headed home from Krepin Diatta’s free-kick.

Sadio Mane, who missed an open goal earlier on, thought he had wrapped up the points when he slotted past Ibrahim Kone five minutes from time, but was denied by the offside flag.

However, Aliou Cisse’s side did get their second goal in the dying moments following a devastating counter, with Mane finding Ndiaye in acres of space and the substitute sweeping home.

With that, Senegal sealed first place in Group C ahead of Cameroon, who snatched second place from Guinea following their dramatic 3-2 victory over Gambia.

CAMEROON OVERCAME GAMBIA IN A TOUGH AFCON CLASH

 

AFRICAN QUALIFIER TO.GO AHEAD IN MARRAKECH DESPITE DEADLY QUAKE

Getty

Gambia and Congo's African Cup of Nations qualifier in Marrakech will go ahead as scheduled on Sunday despite the powerful earthquake that struck the city on Friday night and which has so far killed more than 1,000 people and injured hundreds more.

However, Saturday's match between Morocco and Liberia in Agadir, some 260-km away from the quake epicentre, has been postponed.

The Gambia and Congo squads spent the night sleeping beside their hotel pools after the magnitude 6.8 quake struck in the High Atlas mountains and damaged buildings in nearby Marrakech. It was the country's deadliest tremor in more than six decades.

Both coaches said their players were traumatised by the event but had been told they must go ahead with their match.

Sunday’s clash, which decides who qualifies along with Group G winners Mali, is being played in Marrakech because Gambia do not have a suitable stadium to host internationals.

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