Kenya’s hopes of earning a spot in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations were severely damaged following a horrendous outing in Doula, Cameroon on Friday.
Harambee Stars – looking jittery – were a pale shadow of themselves as they soaked in 4-1 humiliating defeat to hosts Cameroon in the first leg encounter at the packed Japoma stadium.
The encounter proved to be a one-sided affair, with the Indomitable Lions exerting dominance at whim on both ends of the interval.
Hatayaspor’s offensive midfielder Vincent Aboubakar ignited the home crowd with an early penalty kick conversion, barely eight minutes after kickoff.
FC Granada playmaker Martin Hongla then doubled the advantage in the 39th minute before the visitors cut the deficit through skipper Michael Olunga in the 41st minute.
It wasn’t long though before Brentford FC’s fleetfooted winger Brian Mbeumo stretched Cameroon’s lead two minutes later. Okhdood Club’s Christian Bassogog then hammered the final nail into Kenya’s casket with a splendid goal in the 55th minute.
The outcome extended Cameroon’s dominance over Kenya, stretching their wins to five in the nine encounters involving the teams since 1972 when they met for the first time.
Kenya has not won a single match against the West African nation. Whereas Kenya only had two shots on target, Cameroon had five. The host team still dominated possession with 61 per cent compared to Kenya’s 39 per cent.
Cameroon completed 496 passes against Kenya’s 312. The teams will flex their muscles in the second-leg fixture on Monday. The outcome leaves Cameroon on top of Group J with seven points.
Kenya now drops to third after matchday 3 and they must now try to get at least a point in the return leg against Cameroon on Monday in Uganda to avoid being pushed out of qualification positions ahead of the final matchday in November
by TONY MBALLA