McCarthy says Kenya’s aerial power frustrated South Africa in AFCON draw

Kenya coach Benni McCarthy says his side’s height and physical strength were decisive in their 2-2 draw with South Africa in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Orlando Stadium.

The Harambee Stars had looked the stronger team in the air for much of the match, and their late equaliser by Ryan Ogam underlined the physical advantage McCarthy had asked his players to exploit.

McCarthy said Kenya needed to adapt after a slow start and make better use of their size at set-pieces and in individual duels.

“I think sometimes you gotta assess the game and when you know what your opponents have just natural talent in abundance and the strength that they have, you gotta also try and how you can counter that,” he said.

“When you look at the pitch, we were much bigger and a much more physical and a much stronger team and the opening minutes of the game, we didn’t show that. I don’t know if the players dealt okay with the altitude because you could see we were a bit lethargic and a bit sluggish in the first 15, 20 minutes of the game but afterwards we started playing.”

The Kenya manager said the team’s aerial options gave them an advantage over Bafana Bafana, particularly when delivering set-pieces into the penalty area.

“I just said to use our advantage and that was the aerial ball because we had Olunga who’s six foot nine. We had the two centre backs and then we had Amos Wanjala, that’s also a decent size,” McCarthy said.

“We had a numerical advantage height wise compared to South Africa, so, I just said to use a little bit more when we get setpieces, clip it in the air because they only have the two big centre backs, Okon and Makhaya, that ace the level of us and Yaya Sithole. We played to our advantage a little bit with having such big players in the team.”

Ogam spent only nine minutes on the pitch but scored a goal that rewarded McCarthy’s continued faith in him. The forward had also scored twice during the CHAN tournament held in East Africa.

McCarthy rejected suggestions that his selection was based on personal loyalty, saying players were chosen according to the demands of each match and their current level of competition.

“I don’t know where people come with this loyalty thing. It’s just a coaching thing, the players have performed, the players have done the job, have done the job for you when you need to call upon the players that you know that you can go to war with that’s gonna bail you out of any situation, those are the players that you trust,” he explained.

“You go for them and also why would I pick someone that played two or three games in the Kenyan League that just started yesterday, over a player who is plying his trade in Europe and is up against good quality opposition.

“The math doesn’t add up so I don’t know where people come with favouritism or what not but for me I select based on who I think is the best for what we need against the opponents that we’re facing and that’s how I select the squad.”