Afcon 2019: Kenya lacked the experience to trouble Algeria – Sebastien Migne

Kenya coach Sebastien Migne has admitted that his side were afraid to take the battle to Algeria during their Group C opener on Sunday night.

The French tactician says Kenya lacked the experience to match the Desert Foxes and suffered from stage fright as they succumbed to two first-half goals in the Africa Cup of Nations contest played at June 30 Stadium in Cairo.

“We simply missed the experience to take the battle to Algeria and also some of my players were afraid since they were playing in the big stage for the first time,” Migne told reporters after the match.

“We did not play our usual game and it was difficult for me to recognize my team and at this stage, if you don’t show up and play your usual style, then you will definitely lose.

“After we gave away the penalty for the first goal and also conceded the second, I knew it will be difficult for us to come up and get something from the tie. We gave them too much space and they used that to punish us at the end.”

Migne says his side must remain positive and focus to get a win against neighbours Tanzania in their second Group match on Thursday.

“We should not give up because we still have two matches to play and I want to keep the players focused. We tried to win the first game but we did not, so we should now try and win the second game,” Migne continued.

“We must stay positive, we can still get something from the two matches and put our campaign back on track.”

The win leaves Algeria on top of Group C with three points, level on points with Senegal who beat Tanzania 2-0 in an earlier fixture.