NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 15 – Engin Firat signed off from his Harambee Stars job on a winning note, guiding the team to their only victory in the qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup after a 2-1 home win over Rwanda on Monday.
First half goals from captain Michael Olunga and midfielder Richard Odada secured the victory for Stars, with Rwanda’s victory coming short despite Olivier Niyonzima’s goal.
From the team that started in the last match away to Uganda, Firat had made changes with keeper Brian Bwire’s last minute error seeing him benched an in his place James Saruni started.
Erick Ouma who also missed the Uganda game with injury as so did Richard Odada who replaced Anthony Wambani in midfield.
Stars went to the break with a two-goal cushion, and a performance they wished they would have given from the start of the qualification phase.
Olunga scored his third goal of the qualifiers in the second minute with a well taken volley on his weaker right foot after Abdallah Hassan nodded back into play Ouma’s cross from the left.
The striker almost immediately scored a second when he took a rasping shot from the edge of the area, but the keeper made a superb one-handed save to turn the ball behind for a corner.
Quarter of an hour later, Stars were 2-0 up when Odada converted from the penalty spot after Ouma was hacked down inside the box by Rwandese keeper Fiacre Ntwali.
Harambee Stars defender Erick Ouma in action. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
This was Odada’s first goal for the national team in his fourth appearance, but wouldn’t have had it if coach Engin Firat has had his way as he was screaming at Olunga to take the penalty instead of Odada.
Stars were in cruise control and Olunga should have had a second when he controlled the ball inside the box and found space to shoot, but the effort was blocked by the keeper. The clearance ricocheted against Abdallah but the ball went wide.
Ouma who was enterprising on the left came close to scoring his first ever international goal when he raced to a ball on the left, but his shot was palmed away by the Rwanda keeper.
In the second half, Rwanda came back an improved outfit as they sought to overturn the two goal deficit. They attacked in numbers with Ernest Sugira being a constant threat.
He came close with a shot from range that flushed just wide, hissing past the side netting.
The Amavubi however got their goal in the 6th minute when Olivier Niyonzima got to the end of a freekick from the left, stretching his boot to direct the ball beyond Saruni.
They almost grabbed the equalizer two minutes later when Joseph Okumu cheaply lost the ball in a dangerous area, but luckily for him Sugira blasted the ball over the bar from the edge of the box.
