Kenya Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy hailed ‘incredible fans’ for pushing his team as they overcame Morocco 1-0 at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on Sunday.
Ryan Ogama first half goal settled the contest in which Kenya played more than 45 minutes with ten men after Erasmus Erambo red card after VAR consultation.
“I am grateful for the players that left everything out on the field not for themselves alone but for the fans in the stadium that were incredible,” McCarthy stated. “I don’t think if we didn’t have those fans we would survive. Not with eleven or ten players, so this victory is owed to the fans and I am just grateful to know we have a team that leaves everything out there on the field.”
On his tactics that shutout Morocco despite dominating possession, the ex-South African international hailed his former coach at FC Porto Jose Mourinho admitting he learnt a lot from him.
“We had to be structured, organised and despite Morocco having 90% possession, they didn’t know what to do with the ball,” he stated.
“Remember I played a certain coach called Jose Mourinho and is the master of that. As a player playing in a team with 10 men, and I am telling you it is hard but we used to manage it like it was our everyday thing.
So, I learnt the tricks of working with Mourinho. It is not pretty for fans because they want to see attacking football but you have to protect your goal and if you are in the lead, you must do that.”
On their debut, Kenya is on the brink of reaching the quarter finals as they top group A with 7 points.
Their last match will be against Zambia who are still without a point in the tournament after two matches.