Arnold Origi has praised Harambee Stars for managing to secure a draw against Togo in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Monday.
Kenya failed to go top of Group G standings after Togo held them to a 1-1 draw at Kasarani Stadium. Kenya would have gone top with four points after Egypt and Comoros drew 0-0 in the other match in the group had they hung onto their lead.
Club Brugge KV midfielder Johanna Omollo scored the hosts’ goal after unleashing a thunderous shot from outside the 18-yard box before Hakim Oura-Sama equalised for The Sparrowhawks with a bullet header after a well-delivered ball from a corner-kick.
Despite Kenya dominating the tie and missing out on the three points, the former Harambee Stars keeper has praised the team for putting up a good display after their rigorous trip to Cairo where they travelled for 16 hours.
“Three points is what everyone wanted or expected, and your reactions and body language after the game showed nobody wanted them more than you guys did,” Origi, who currently turns out for HIFK Fotboll in the Finnish Veikkausliiga, posted on his Facebook page.
“But a demanding performance on Thursday [against Egypt], to get a positive result at a very difficult place for any team to go to, followed by a rigorous build-up to this game, a 16 hours journey to arrive in Nairobi just a day before the game, and still manage to put up a performance that made the opponents happy to come out of Nairobi with a draw, shows another level of strength, focus, and commitment of not only men but of warriors.
“The character you’ve shown, and the shift you guys put in [against Togo] is something all of you should be proud of, and It’s a positive that is extremely worth building on for the future.
“Be proud of what you did to get the point even though you wanted more, keep your heads up and let’s look to the next phase of games with the utmost optimism. There is so much potential in this team to rewrite and write a new history.”
Harambee Stars dominated the Togolese side with striker Michael Olunga missing a host of chances. Kenya will now take a break before they shift gear to the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup to be held in Kampala, Uganda from December.
