Kenya held by lowly Chad in Morocco

Kenya’s Harambee Stars on Saturday night settled for a barren draw with Chad in their first ever international friendly match at Marrakech Stadium in Morocco.

The results mean Harambee Stars have yet to register a win under South African coach Benni McCarthy.

McCarthy led Kenya to a 3-3 draw against hosts Gambia and 2-1 loss to visitors Gabon in their Group “F” World Cup qualifiers held in March.

The two teams will again face off on Tuesday in another friendly encounter at the same venue.

The two friendly matches form part of Kenya’s preparations for the delayed 2024 Africa Nations Championship (Chan).

Kenya will host the tournament alongside Uganda and Tanzania from August 2 to 30.

According to the latest Fifa rankings, Kenya are placed 111th while Chad lie at 177th.

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With captain Michael Olunga and vice captain Joseph Okumu unavailable, experienced defender Brian Mandela was handed the responsibility of leading the team.

England-based winger Adam Wilson finally made his debut with the team after earning a spot in the starting line-up, while the striking role fell to Kakamega Homeboyz’s Moses Shumah, who leads the scoring chart in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League with 17 goals.

Kenya failed to find the breakthrough in the first-half despite being the better side.

Shumah and Australian-based midfielder William Lenkupae were the unlucky ones.

Shumah threatened twice in the sixth minute, his first attempt from close-range missing the target, before he forced Chad’s goalkeeper Mbaynaissem Jourdain into a save with a shot from the edge of the box.

Chad’s first real scoring chance arrived in the 10th minute but Kenya’s goalkeeper Brian Bwire did well to save Ali Mahamat’s header.