Kenya fall to Senegal in Deaflympics football qualifier opener

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Kenya fall to Senegal in Deaflympics football qualifier opener
Kenya fall to Senegal in Deaflympics football qualifier opener

Africa-PressKenya. A Seck Harona brace on either side of a Diop Daouda penalty was all Senegal needed for an emphatic 3-1 win over 10-man Kenya in the opening match of the Deaflympics football qualifier at Moi Stadium, Kasarani.

Kenya began the brighter of the two sides with an early shot from winger Kennedy Kiptoo forcing custodian Diaw Mouhamadou into action.

They continued to up the tempo on their visitors even after a Senegalese goal was disallowed in the 10th minute for offside.

Soon after, Kenya were rewarded when midfielder Bashir Yahye pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area to fire into an empty net after Mouhamadou had unsuccessfully come out to cut out a cross.

However, the lead only lasted for seven minutes as Harona curled in a tame shot into the bottom right corner, which Thor Mwai in the hosts’ goal should have dealt with comfortably.

The Kenyan defensive pair of Eugene Nyasasi and Chrisantus Agenge seemed rattled as their West African opponents launched wave after wave of attack.

The pressure told in the dying embers of the first half as Nyasasi pulled back Harona who had sneaked in behind him to latch on to a through ball.

Up stepped Daouda to send Mwai the wrong way to give them the lead going into the interval.

The Senegalese came back guns blazing in the second half as Harona and his strike partner Mendy Laurent ran rings around the Kenyans.

Once again, the Kenyan backline caved in to pressure and their failure to deal with a loose ball allowed Harona to fire in his second goal of the day.

Left-winger Kennedy Kilonzo immediately had the chance to reduce the deficit but he dithered when he was left with the keeper to pull the trigger.

Matters became worse for the hosts in the last quarter of the game when Nyasasi was given his marching orders after obstructing Laurent who was through on goal.

From then, Senegal took the game by the scruff of the neck and looked likelier to add a fourth.

The Kenyans will now retreat and regroup for their next match in Group A against Mali.

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