McCarthy shares dissatisfaction following Harambee Stars’ draw against Lesotho

By , June 5, 2026

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy was left to rue a spate of lost chances following Kenya’s draw against Lesotho on Thursday, May 4, 2026, in South Africa.

Kenya let go of Frank Odhiambo’s early lead to draw the Likuena 1-1 in their first of back-to-back ties at the Lucas Moripe Stadium against the Southern African nation ranked 30 places below the East Africans.

Speaking after the match, the gaffer revealed that the team was in a good place, having assessed a number of the new players and debutants to the team towards the preparation for the 2027 African Cup of Nations games.

Debutants

“I am not entirely satisfied with the draw, but I am glad we gauged the young, inexperienced players making their debuts. We know each other now, and we hope to field a stronger, completely different team on Sunday,” he stated.

He also spoke on the goal that the Dutch-based debutant keeper Caleb Kramer conceded minutes after coming on for Faruk Shikalo.

Harambee Stars players at their training base in Soweto, South Africa on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, ahead of their friendly match against Lesotho. PHOTO/https://web.facebook.com/officialharambeestars

“Protecting a 1-0 lead requires caution. The fourth official signalled the substitution, but we wanted them to play out the phase first. The goalkeeper came on, and we immediately conceded; that was down to our inexperience. Otherwise, I am just happy the players got a runout after a long spell without competitive assessment,” he explained.

Sunday’s rematch

On his part, Likuena’s coach admitted that it was an honour to test their mettle against the Kenyan team, whom he lauded for their technical ability and performance.

“We wanted to ensure their (Kenyans’) wingers don’t play the ball. This is the test we wanted: the result is not as important as how we wanted to get from gauging ourselves against such a team,” he said.

“I feel we were better with the new players we had on show, but I believe we could have done much better,” he added.

Kenya now prepares to play against the same opposition on Sunday in the final match of their June friendly calendar, with McCarthy optimistic of a good and better showing.

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