Harambee Stars Under-20 head coach Salim Babu says he was impressed with the performance of the Tusker Youth team, as the two sides faced off in a friendly match on Thursday afternoon at the KCB Sports Club.
The Youth Team lost the game 2-1, with the Harambee Stars team scoring through Christopher Koloti and Syphas Owuor in either half, while the Youth Team’s goal was scored by Joseph Kirantu in the second half.
“They gave us a really good game. They are a good team, well coached and really physically present. That is the kind of opposition we wanted because that is the exact kind of opposition we would come up against. We needed the boys to toughen up a bit and the Tusker Youth team gave us that kind of a challenge,” Babu said after the game.
Tusker Youth assistant coach Peter Kariuki was also delighted with the performance of the team, saying they showed their worth against a worthy opponent, the national team, with players practically within their age group.
“It was such a good exposure for these young boys because they really need it. They have picked their lessons, they have also shown what we can do and we are really satisfied with what they gave today,” Kariuki said.
Looking back at the match, he said; “We started a bit shaky probably because of a bit of stage fright but once we got into the game, we had a good performance. We have also picked areas we need to improve on as a team and that is really the essence of such friendly matches.”
Stars U20 scored the opener midway through the first half, Koloti rising to head home a corner from Ezekiel Omuri. In the second half, Tusker had a good show offensively and they could have drawn level but wasted several chances.
Owuor scored the second for the Kenyan junior team off a counter, shooting low past keeper Salim Andale from the right.
But the Youth Team gave a good account and pulled one back through Kirantu’s delightful finish quarter of an hour to the end.
