Kenya, 10 Man Harambee Stars were at the best of their defensive beating the fancied Atlas Lions of Morocco 1-0 in an explosive Group A match at a sold-out Kasarani Stadium to storm to the quarterfinals in CAF competitions in Nairobi.
Stars were reduced to 10 men in the first half but gallantly matched the opponents – toe for toe in the first half before retreating to defend their territory in the second stanza to record history on home soil.
Ryan Wesley Ogam who broke the deadlock when he held his nerves to calmly rifle past Moroccan goalie Al Harrar in the 35th minute, driving the partisan Kasarani crowd into delirium.
Kenya was reduced by one player, for the second game running, after Chrisphine Erambo was shown a red card on a lengthy VAR review, for a lunge on the opponent.
With a man down, Coach Benni McCarthy made a tactical change, bringing in defensive midfielder Alpha Onyango for Edward Omondi Otieno.
Moroccan coach Tarek Sektioui also responded to the dice throwing in Sabir Bougrine for Mohamed Moufid while also summoning the fresh legs of Youssef Mehri.
Two minutes after the break, Morocco, now enjoying a numerical advantage, nearly drew level but substitute Youssef Mehri put his shot inches wide, with a fully stretched Bryne Omondi well beaten.
For this game, Coach McCarthy made sweeping changes from the squad that held Angola to a 1-1 draw.
Ogam was picked to start upfront after a bench starting berth in the last game. Equally, Bandari man Mohammed Siraj got his first start in the championship alongside Lewis Bandi while skipper Abud Omar and Alphonce Omija dropped to the bench.
Tanzania is the first country to qualify for the CHAN quarter-finals.
Tanzania — Secured qualification after a convincing 2–1 win over Madagascar in their third Group B match.
