Kenya coach Firat hailed for ‘brave’ Matasi decision ahead of AFCON qualifiers

Ahead of the two decisive Group J matches, First unveiled his travelling squad with Matasi, who features for Kenya Police in the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League being among the players left behind.

In the squad, KCB custodian Farouk Shikhalo made a comeback after his impressive displays for KCB in the FKF Premier League alongside Ian Otieno of Premier Soccer League (PSL) outfit Richards Bay of South Africa and Bryne Omondi of Bandari FC.

Harambee Stars will face the Warriors of Zimbabwe on Friday, November 15th at Peter Makoba Stadium in South Africa before winding up their Group J fixtures against the Brave Warriors of Namibia on Tuesday, November 19th at the same venue.

Matasi had a poor game when Kenya played against Cameroon in a double-legged matchday three and four fixtures in October. During the first game at Japoma Stadium in Douala, Kenya suffered a 4-1 defeat with the former Posta Rangers and AFC Leopards custodian being at fault for the team’s second and third goals.

Despite complaints from Kenyan fans to have Matasi dropped, he was retained for the reverse fixture at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Uganda where he committed another blunder as Kenya lost 1-0 to the Indomitable Lions to puncture their qualification hopes.

After playing Cameroon, Kenya were drawn to face South Sudan in the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers. While naming his team, the former Moldova coach overlooked Matasi and went for the services of Shikhalo.

However, though Kenya have qualified for the tournament they will co-host alongside Tanzania and Uganda, they failed to progress after suffering a 3-1 aggregate defeat. The first leg in Juba saw Kenya suffer a 2-0 defeat before they snatched a 1-1 draw against the Bright Stars at the Stade Nelson Mandela Stadium in Uganda.

Should have been dropped long ago

According to former Kenyan international Elijah Onsika, Matasi, who made his international debut for Kenya in 2017, had been given enough opportunity to redeem himself after his catastrophic mistakes but he failed to do hence the reason his omission will not be a huge miss.

“I believe he (Firat) made the right decision to drop Patrick (Matasi), we all know what he has been doing when given the opportunity to play and the two matches (against Zimbabwe and Namibia) need a focused goalkeeper if Kenya are to get something positive in their quest to qualify,” Onsika told Flashscore.

“You cannot be letting your team down whenever you start in a game, Matasi has been catastrophic, to say the least, and no one can trust him anymore. Remember Kenya needs to win both matches to stand a chance of qualifying for the AFCON and I think Firat’s decision is a brave one, he ought to have done it a long time ago but even now it is a good time to try other keepers.”

Onsika continued: “Matasi has been committing mistakes day in and day out and when given a chance to redeem himself, he goes ahead to repeat the same mistakes. He always commits schoolboy blunders that a top keeper needs not to. He should not complain about the move (to be axed) because he has been given enough time to prove himself but nothing positive comes out of him.”

Onsika, who played for Kisumu Posta in the late 1980s and '90s went further to urge Firat to start Shikhalo in the qualifiers.

“Shikhalo has done good this season, he has been in top form helping KCB to keep the top spot in the league, he seems to have rediscovered his form and I know if given the opportunity by Firat, he will perform better,” explained Onsika.

Shikhalo’s KCB are currently leading the Kenyan league with 17 points accumulated from five wins, two draws and one defeat. Infact their unbeaten run ended a week ago after losing 1-0 against promoted side Mathare United.

Matasi deserves to be dropped

The decision by Firat elicited debate across the country with fans welcoming the move to drop the player, who previously played for Kabrass United, and Tusker before signing a three-year contract with Ethiopian Premier League club Saint George in October 2018.

Kipkogei Agui said: “Calamity goalkeeper... Letting in easy goals all the time, good decision coach Engin Firat,” while Joseph Kingori wrote: “You will go down as the keeper, who sold his country by committing schoolboy mistakes.”

“I’m glad you were not among the goalkeepers called up to represent the country,” opined Zac Culture while Gichuki Karai said: “We aren’t serious as a country by entrusting Matasi to be our custodian between the post, while goalies matures like fine wine with age this one is the opposite.”

“No Matasi for the first time, hope this motivates the others,” concluded Falme Mfalme.

Wanjala inclusion will boost his confidence

Meanwhile, Firat handed U20 national team captain Amos Wanjala his first call-up to the senior team. Wanjala was impressive for the U20 team during the just concluded CECAFA region qualifiers for the U20 AFCON.

Speaking on Wanjala’s inclusion, Onsika said: “It is a positive decision, it will help boost the morale of the young player, he now has the opportunity to mix it with the big boys and learn a thing or two.

“With Kenya assured of playing at 2024 CHAN and 2027 AFCON for being among the host nation, such young players need to be integrated into the team quickly so that by the time the tournaments arrive, they will be ready to represent the country.”

Apart from Matasi, other players dropped from Kenya squad include Zak Vyner, who plays for EFL Championship club Bristol City, Gor Mahia trio of Geoffrey Ochieng, Alphonce Omija, Sylvester Owino and Tusker’s Chris Erambo.

Kenya kicked off their qualification campaign with a 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe before recovering to beat Namibia 2-1. They then lost two straight against the five-time African champions Cameroon.

Harambee Stars currently sits third in Group J with four points while Cameroon are leading the pile with 10 points and Zimbabwe following in second position with eight points.