Penalty shootout misery: Harambee Stars falter from the spot to exit CHAN at the hands of Barea de Madagascar

Kenya lost on penalties 3-4 to Madagascar in the quarter finals of CHAN 2024 yesterday after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes and extra-time. Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani was at 80% capacity as directed by CAF but the atmosphere was as pregnant as ever with expectation. In the end it was heartbreak for the Kenyan fans in the most cruel of ways in football, a penalty shootout.





Boniface Muchiri had delivered an inch perfect free kick for Alphonce Omija to give Kenya the lead shortly after half time. Ryan Ogam then had a goal disallowed under unclear circumstances. But a hand ball in his own box by Lewis Bandi gave Madagascar the chance to equalize from the spot in the 69th minute. Fenohisana Gilles Razafimaro made no mistake with his penalty.

Penalty Heartbreak 

As fans trudged out of the stadium in conversation after the loss, the most common words you could hear were ‘ kwani Austin alifanyia nini coach?’ and ‘hizo subs za Benni zimetucost.’ Benni McCarthy has had a brilliant tournament tactically. Even yesterday, he made certain tweaks that gave us an advantage in the game, but the ubiquitous feeling from the ground was that he messed up with his substitutions.

By the end of the 120 minutes, Kenya had six defenders on the pitch. The last of whom came on in the 117th minute (Sylvester Owino on for Alpha Onyango). This is with four attackers on the bench including fan favourite Austin Odhiambo and Brian Michira who has barely featured in the tournament.

So you go with six defenders for the penalty shootout, and as a fan you’re already dreading what’s coming next. But I dare say no one expected that all our five penalties would be taken by defenders.

You could almost predict Michael Kibwage’s penalty miss. He did the sign of the cross three times before he took his penalty, the last of which was a rushed hand gesture in hope rather than supplication to his God. I’m not a body language expert but you would like a bit of confidence and composure from your penalty taker. Kibwage was exceptional throughout the tournament but he shouldn’t have been in that position. Where was Masoud Juma to take a penalty?




In the end, despite, Bryne Odhiambo’s valiant effort in goal, Madagascar remained composed and won the shootout. A tiny section at the far end of the stadium erupted into joy. The Barea players joined their fans in celebration, not fazed by the cacophony of boos around them.

Tactics

McCarthy started off the game with his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation. Marvin Nabwire was the most advanced midfielder. Alpa Onyango and Manzur Okwaro formed the midfield pivot, Ben Stanley and Boniface Muchiri the wide men supporting star striker Wesley Ogam.

Kenya started brightly with quick attacks which led to an Aboud Omar free kick that almost crept in after a deflection from the wall in the 17th minute. After that the game went into a lull for about ten minutes when Benni McCarthy made his first noticeable tactical tweak of the game.

The South African tactician instructed Aboud Omar to invert into midfield, giving us an extra body in build up. We had struggled to progress the ball through the middle and had allowed Madagascar to control the tempo of the game, thus quietening the crowd.

Aboud in midfield led to Boniface Muchiri having an electric 10 minutes against the Madagascar right back. The dynamic winger was a menace with his combination play, one-v-one ability and movement into the central spaces. However, we could not really build any momentum from this tweak as Muchiri and Ben Stanley kept on changing flanks. Thus, Madagascar were able to navigate their way to halftime still goalless and Muchiri’s threat at least controlled.

The second noticeable shift came late in the game when Benni McCarthy brought on Siraj Mohammed for Ben Stanley Omondi. The result was we moved to a 5-2-3 formation. Siraj and Bandi (later on Sakari) as wingbacks, Alpha Onyango and Marvin Nabwire as the midfield with a frontline of Masoud Juma, Austine Odongo and Edward Otieno. Alpha Onyango was undoubtedly the man of the match. The 24-year-old was the heart and soul of our midfield until he was eventually substituted for Sylvester Owino in the 117th minute.

Aboud kept on offering himself as an option in midfield, while also making the occasional run on the wing with Siraj comfortable on the under lap. The underwhelming part of the system was the front three as they could not offer the same threat Muchiri and Ogam offered.

This is what frustrated fans about the coach’s substitutions. He ended the game with a front three who could not muster the courage to take penalties when Austin had already proven himself from the spot in the tournament. A half-fit Austin would still back himself to score a penalty on such a big stage.

Benni’s tactical acumen is not in question. As highlighted above, he did make positive tactical changes that gave us certain advantages at points within the game. Just that his subs didn’t improve us.


Madagascar can certainly enjoy their hard-fought victory, especially given how determined the Kenyan fans were to push our boys into the Semifinals. For Kenya, it was an abrupt end to what had been an amazing campaign. Expectations had soared, there were even shouts of making the final. It was not to be but this CHAN campaign has been successful on and off the pitch. Bring on AFCON!