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Harambee Stars assistant coach Frank Ouna has expressed discontent over “unplayable” conditions at the Siaka Stevens Stadium, Freetown Sierra Leone.
The soggy pitch was the venue of yesterday’s Afcon qualifying group F match between the hosts Leone Stars and the Kenyans, who went down 2-1.
Speaking after the match in place of the head coach Stanley Okumbi, Ouna, who doubles up as the coach of the National Super League side Wazito FC, fell short of blaming the poor conditions for their misfortunes.
“It was a tough match in very unplayable conditions. The pitch was not good for playing football, but this is Africa, you expect such when you travel. We copped well, I think we didn’t expect such conditions,” the former Gor Mahia assistant coach said.
The captain Victor Wanyama bemoaned the missed chances, “It was a difficult match, but I think we were the better side and created more chances which we failed to convert and there’s nothing we can do now,” the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder said.
Stars fluffed two clear chances in the first half, with Kariobangi Sharks forward Masoud Juma missing from close range and Michael Olunga hitting the crossbar with the net begging.
Olunga would later atone for the miss with a superb free-kick in the second half for the lone goal.
Sierra Leone coach John Keister, who took over about a fortnight ago, was buoyant after the kill.
“Well done to Kenya, they gave us a difficult match, but we made it clear our intention was to have a positive approach to the match,” the former international said.
The other group match between Ghana and Ethiopia will be decided today in Kumasi, before the qualifiers take a break till March 2018.
