Michael Olunga scored a brace while Masoud Juma, Rooney Onyango and Benson Omalla scored one each as Harambee Stars thumped a jaded Seychelles 5-0 on Monday night, in Abidjan – Ivory Coast.
It was a one-sided affair all through, and a critic would be excused to ask for more as wasteful Stars had clear chances to score more than 10, in their second match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
It is not surprising that another Group F competitor Ivory Coast on Friday hammered Seychelles 9-0, going by the cluelessness exhibited in the match, as Stars made light work of the Island nation.
Coach Engin Firat made two changes in the best 11 which started against Gabon Thursday last week, introducing Eric ‘Marcelo’ Ouma in the left-back role, in the place of Aboud Omar as Eric Johanna started in the place of Kenneth Muguna.
Olunga needed just three minutes to open the floodgates capitalizing on a miscalculated back pass by Ellie Sopha, calmly beating his two markers before shooting a low one past goalkeeper Carlos Simeon, who was then advancing to block.
Two minutes later, Olunga grabbed his brace. Simeon punched his powerful shot straight back to his right foot, allowing him to unleash another screamer into the net as the Seychelles custodian tried to recollect himself.
By the quarter-hour mark, Olunga had threatened twice again, while Juma and Johanna had come close too, once each.
But it was a tap-in opportunity near the six-yard box missed by Juma as the ball crossed across the Seychelles goal from the right, which marked another instance of quite disappointing wastefulness.
A mishap by Kenya’s defence almost gave the hosts a cheap goal, but goalkeeper Patrick Matasi was alert enough to collect the ball which bounced off Nick France Labiche as Amos Nondi attempted to clear.
Olunga was unable to beat the keeper, Simeon, in a one-on-one situation within the box, a real chance to seal a hat-trick slipping off the Al Duhail goal poacher.
In the 28th minute, Olunga shot over the bar with only the keeper to beat, losing another chance to make it 3-0, from a sumptuous cross by midfielder Anthony Akumu.
A hungry Olunga was at it again in the 37th, this time from the left side of the box, hitting a low one which rattled keeper Simeon’s leg before spiraling out, as the Kenyan captain frantically attempted to stretch for a rebound.
Five minutes to the break, Eric Ouma sent a fine cross from the left channel to unmarked Onyango, who poorly shot wide, with the Seychelles defence clearly lost.
The AIK man Ouma crossed a similar one yet again in the 44th to find Richard Odada, who was calm to stop, but could not finish the move.
Just before the break, Juma made it 3-0 after cleverly losing his marker, building from Johanna’s throw ball, as he headed the ball down before unleashing a powerful shot into the right corner of the net.
