The Annual African Challenge Cup organized by the Sports Association of Afro-Scandinavians (SAAS) is now entering its second week after creating a lot of excitement last week-end. Tomorrow, Saturday, 9th July, the Kenya Football Team is scheduled to meet their Tanzanian counterparts in a group A match that has been dubbed “The battle of the titans” by pundits around Stockholm. It must be remembered that the two teams reached the finals in the same tournament with the Nyerere boys having lifted the trophy.
The match, which kicks off at 17.30hrs at Skarpnäck IP grounds, is so crucial that the Kenyan team, under the tutelage of Coach Makan assisted by Clay Onyango, has been training weekly. According to Makan who spoke to KSB on telephone, the team is upbeat and the attack squad is said not to be leaving anything to chance.
It will be the second game for the Kenyans who played against the Burundians last Sunday, a match that ended in a 1-1 draw. As opposed to the Kenyans, the Burundians are debutants in the tournament and they appear to have been very lucky because they earned a penalty kick during the first half which they quickly scored to take the lead.
Four of Kenya’s top players could not turn up for the match but despite their absence, the Kenyans played a relatively balanced game. As they lagged behind during the second half, the team did not appear to be struggling for survival. They had better ball control, constantly worried the Burundians while they tried to shutter the well-knit Burindian defence system before mother luck came calling.
A Kenyan was fouled at the penalty box, prompting the referee to award a penalty kick which was easily converted into a goal by “penalty specialist” Teddy Maundu. This brought the game to a draw. Before the Kenyans could gather extra strength to try and take the lead from behind, time was up and they had to call it a day.
With a tough game against the Tanzanians, the Kenyans will need to work even harder because the Tanzanians are seeking to retain the cup by successfully defending their title. The Kenyans will have to ensure that they don’t blow their chances and this means that they will have to be much quicker in taking advantage of opportunities that will present themselves.
Mr. Makan has appealed to Kenyans to turn up in large numbers to support the team. “We need the support of everybody because this will be a very crucial match”, Mr. Makan told KSB. He hopped that key players who did not make it last Sunday will, this time, join the team to show the Tanzanians dust.
Okoth Osewe
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