Poor  finishing cost Harambee Stars dearly as they were held  to a scoreless draw by visiting Mauritius Les Dodos  in the return leg of
the  2018  World Cup Qualifier return leg match  staged on Sunday at the Safaricom Stadium Kasarani.,

 Despite the scoreless draw, Harambee Stars   have  qualified to the next round where they will meet Cape Verde following their 5.-2 goal
aggregate.

Kenya will now face Cape Verde  in a two-legged affair  in the second round in November that will also be played over two legs.

The first  leg will be played in the weekend of  November 13th/14th/15
November and the return leg on 17th November.

 The Kenyans were a joy to watch.Twice,their efforts ended  in  the wood work .In the 34th minute, Brian Mandela’s  header from Eric
Johana  free kick hit the cross bar with Mauritius Keeper  Jean Louis beaten.

Nevertheless, the Mauritius Keeper was  the man of the match after making several miraculous saves  .

Stars first chance at goal came from a free kick inside the box, skipper Victor Wanyama failed to steer past bodies of Les Dodos defender lining up a defensive wall.

 The Kenyans edged closer again in the 20th min with Wanyama’s lofting a brilliant pass to Michael  Olunga. The attacker did well to
beat one  defender before advancing into the box only to miss to find a last touch to trouble  Loius at goal.

   Les Dodo’s capitalized on the attack at their goal to launch an instant counter attack against an outnumbered Stars prompting the
intervention of custodian  Boniface Oluoch who was brilliant in his first meaningful save of the match. The keeper sprinting out in time
to push the ball away .

 There was more action in the second half where  Harambee Stars pushed all their men upfront in search of a goal.

Ayub Timbe who was Kenya’s outstanding  figure upfront along with  Kevin Amwayi, Johan
Omollo,Olunga and second half substitute John Ndirangu launched raid after another but their final penetration proved elusive.

  Allan Wanga who appeared quiet in the match almost saw the back of the net in the 81st minute  while Amwayi and Timbe  had clear chances
in the  72 and  90th minute  effort going  few inches wide.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com