KENYA EDGE MOROCCO 1-0 TO CLOSE IN ON CHAN QUARTER-FINALS
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Debutants Kenya moved within touching distance of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) quarter-finals with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Morocco on Sunday.
The Harambee Stars now lead Group B with seven points, ahead of Angola, DR Congo and Zambia. Playing in front of a packed Kasarani Stadium, Kenya dominated early exchanges, forcing Morocco, unbeaten in their last 14 matches, onto the back foot.
Morocco suffered an early setback when midfielder Ayoub Mouloua was forced off with an elbow injury in the 21st minute. The North Africans also saw Bouchaib Arrassi booked for a rough challenge on Ryan Ogam as tensions rose in midfield.
Ogam, who plays for Tusker in the Kenyan Premier League, broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute, slotting home a rebound to the delight of the home crowd.
Kenya were reduced to 10 men just before half-time when Chrispine Erambo was shown a red card for a heavy tackle on Anas El Mahraoui. Erambo became the second Kenyan player to be dismissed in the tournament, following Marvin Nabwire’s sending-off against Angola.
In other matches, joint co-hosts Tanzania became the first team to book a quarter-final spot after a 2-1 victory over Madagascar on Saturday in Dar es Salaam. Clement Mzize scored twice within the opening 20 minutes for the hosts, before Mika Razafimahatana pulled one back in the 34th minute.
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Tanzania finished top of their group with nine points and will face the Group A runners-up at home on August 22.
Mauritania climbed to second place after a 1-0 win over the Central African Republic, thanks to Ahmed El Moctar’s ninth-minute strike, which ended their goal drought in the tournament.
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