Benni McCarthy says he is hopeful about the future after his Kenya side fought back in their 3-3 draw against The Gambia in his international managerial debut.
Gambia raced into a 2-0 lead in the second half, which McCarthy described as lapses of concentration but they managed to claw back to 2-2 before the home side once again took the lead and looked to have grabbed three points.
However, the Harambee Stars secured a point with the last kick off the game, for McCarthy to come out pleased, having only had one training session with the full squad before the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
“Very stressful, not happy, but listen for the neutral it was very entertaining, lots of goals, that you don’t usually see in a game of football in World Cup qualifiers, but I think the two teams eliminated each other in the opening half,” McCarthy said in the post-match press conference on Thursday evening.
“We had brilliant opportunities with our captain Michael, one of the easiest he would get, he doesn’t take it with the header then straight after that, Gambia got into the game with some good momentum and were awarded a penalty.
“Then we thought okay 1-0 up, they controlled the game a bit better – I think at the break it was a fair reflection of the game… second half was really bizarre, crazy, not sure if it was the altitude, heat or something got to us.
“We made two errors in defence and if you grant Gambia that chance, with the players they have, they usually accurate in front of goal, and it 2-0 up many think it’s over, so I changed things around with some fresher legs, because most players only arrived on Tuesday from Europe with one day of training together.
“We got given a penalty, I’m not sure to say it’s soft but if it was given to them I would have been furious, so I can imagine how their coach feels – happy to receive it, captain steps up and scores, gave us hope and made us really start [playing], we looked like we’d score next and then a fantastic individual effort from Muhamed [Bajaber], a young player I’ve given an opportunity from out of nowhere.
“He took the goal exceptionally well – we thought there’s momentum to control the game but then another rookie mistake – but like I said, one training session with the team, the organisation and communication isn’t there yet.
“They got the 3-2 with six, seven minutes to go with a counter, where we should have scored, so I think it was a brilliant effort of the team [to draw]. Fortunately the boys had lot of fight, character and personality to fight until the end.”
The result did neither side a favour, as Kenya sit fourth in Group F with six points from five games, six points behind leaders Gabon, who they will now host at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday.
“Overall, a draw doesn’t help either team but I will take it as my first game in charge, happy with the point after a few days as coach of Kenya national team,” he said.
“The positivity I see gives me a bit of hope that after another day or two, trainings we can squeeze in before the game against Gabon, gives me hope we can go one step better than today.”
