The Kenyan national under-17 team returned home after ttheir historic victory against Ghana in the first round of the Africa Under-17 Championship qualifiers and had some horrific stories to tell.
The victory was made sweeter by the ordeal the players had been put through. After being held up at the Accra Airport for over four hours on arrival at 9 pm on Friday because of visa fees which Apidi said they should not have been asked to pay in the first place, the players were finally checked into a hotel in Accra and it was not until 3 am that they were served with dinner.
"But we could not even take a shower because the hotel did not have water," said Apidi.
They asked for a training ground in the morning and when none was provided, they limbered up on a tarmac driveway infront of the hotel much to the amusement of many residents.
Then followed what the team manager estimated to be a 270-kilometre haul by road to Obuasi, a contravention of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rules which stipulate that a visiting team must be flown to the venue of the match if the venue is more that 100 kilometres from the point of entry.
All that does not matter any more. Only Ethiopia stands in the way of Kenya and a historic place at the Africa Under-17 Championship finals.
The Kenyan national under-17 team returned home after ttheir historic victory against Ghana in the first round of the Africa Under-17 Championship qualifiers and had some horrific stories to tell.
The victory was made sweeter by the ordeal the players had been put through. After being held up at the Accra Airport for over four hours on arrival at 9 pm on Friday because of visa fees which Apidi said they should not have been asked to pay in the first place, the players were finally checked into a hotel in Accra and it was not until 3 am that they were served with dinner.
"But we could not even take a shower because the hotel did not have water," said Apidi.
They asked for a training ground in the morning and when none was provided, they limbered up on a tarmac driveway infront of the hotel much to the amusement of many residents.
Then followed what the team manager estimated to be a 270-kilometre haul by road to Obuasi, a contravention of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rules which stipulate that a visiting team must be flown to the venue of the match if the venue is more that 100 kilometres from the point of entry.
All that does not matter any more. Only Ethiopia stands in the way of Kenya and a historic place at the Africa Under-17 Championship finals.
The Match as seen by the Kenyans
The Kenyan lads eliminated Ghana 3-2 on aggregate while Ethiopia thrashed Tanzania 6-1 in Addis Ababa to qualify for the second round on a 6-2 aggregate.Kenya lost 2-1 in Obuasi but it must be one of the loses the juniors would love to remember for a long while.
Being so far away from home in the hands of extremely hostile hosts and a difficult match ahead of them, the youngsters found inspiration by chancing onto a television clip featuring their seniors, Harambee Stars.
"A day before the match with Ghana, we were watching Football Mundial soccer show on television and one of the items was a review of last year's Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in Mwanza. The pictures of the senior team waving the Kenyan flag after beating Tanzania in the final really charged up the boys," said team manager Ampher Apidi.
Fielding a team with six players who did not play in Nairobi last December, the Ghanaians won a penalty in the fifth minute after defender Isaac Odhiambo handled the ball in the box. It was the kind of start the Ghana must have dreamed of.
Kenyan goalkeeper Francis Ochieng had other ideas, though. "Losing this match was not on the mind of any of us," he said adding that he flung himself full stretch to the right and saved the shot.
But after holding out well in the first half, the Kenyans saw their two-goal advantage wiped out in two minutes as the Ghanaians rocked them with two quick goals in the 46th and 47th minutes.
Now the hosts had regained their confidence and were playing with their tails up. The Kenyans were rattled and suddenly on the back foot.
"The small stadium was packed tight and such was the noise from the fans that the players could not hear our instructions," said assistant coach, Yussuf Chippo.
He paid tribute to captain MacDonald Mariga for helping to keep Kenya in the game saying he played his heart out for the team. "It was extremely difficult especially after they scored their second goal" said Mariga.
Then came Anthony Katana's stunner. The Ghanaians were caught on the break as they poured forward looking for the winner. George Odari fastened onto a long ball from defence and laid it on for Katana who fired home from outside the box in the 89th minute.
"The stadium was stunned into complete silence. The Ghanaian players collapsed in despair and cried as we all raced to the corner flag to celebrate. It was great goal for me but most important for the team because it took us to the next round," said Katana.
