McCarthy not giving up on World Cup dream as subs Bajaber, Lenkupae salvage a point for Stars on debut

Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy is far from giving up on his dream to inspire the team to its maiden World Cup finals despite dropping points in his first assignment since taking up the role on 3 Friday this month replacing Turkish Engin Firat.
McCarthy’s charges came from behind three times to secure a dramatic 3-3 draw against The Gambia in a thrilling 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier staged at the 60, 000 seater Stade Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday night.
The two points dropped certainly complicated Stars’ chances of closing in on the two top teams in Group F and getting closer to sealing a World Cup ticket but the South African legend still feels the team has a chance saying ‘You will be a fool to give up’  despite the odds appearing to be in favor of the top two Gabon and Cote d’Ivoire.
“I think even the opposing coach will tell you that teams will drop points somewhere down the line. Gambia can beat Ivory Coast as much as they can beat Gabon. Kenya can beat Ivory Coast and Gabon. It is very open,” remarked the former Cape Town City FC coach.
Although the result isn’t good for their qualification hopes, the South African feels there’s plenty of room for improvement: “So happy with the point, happy with what I’ve seen and lots to progress, lots to improve. The positivity that I’ve seen today gives me a bit of hope that we can go one step better than today.”
The former Manchester United first team coach was amazed with the fighting spirit in his team which he has coached a couple of time since he took charge.
“Fortunately, the boys had a lot of fight in them, character, personality…never say die attitude fight till the end and we manage to get a last gasp opportunity,” said McCarthy who is the Bafana Bafana top goal-scorer on 31 goals in 79 stats.
McCarthy believes that Kenya has enough matches to catch up with the two top teams and sail through.
“The teams sitting at the top took the opportunity to collect points early. We have five games to go, which means there are many points up on offer. We are hopeful,” he added.
Despite the hopeful comments and praises to his players coach McCarthy expressed disappointment after his charges missed opportunities that could have killed the game early.
“We had some golden opportunities early in the first half that we failed to convert. The changes made after the break, introducing some fresh legs, changed the game,” he remarked.
How the action unfolded
The match started slowly but transformed into an action-packed second half. Harambee Stars displayed their intentions right away, with Richard Odada nearly finding the net early on. Captain Michael Olunga also missed a key chance, sending a header wide from a Rooney Onyango cross.
The host team started to dominate possession, looking for spaces to hurt Kenya. The Stars, however, remained tight at the back and dangerous on the counterattack. Gambia’s breakthrough came when Brighton & Hove Albion’s Yankuba Minteh came close to scoring, but Kenya’s goalkeeper, Ian Otieno, made a crucial save.
The tension increased when Otieno gave away a penalty after a late challenge on Alieu Federa, but he made amends by saving Musa Barrow’s spot-kick, keeping the score level as the teams headed into halftime.
Controversies also formed a part of the tense first half when the Gambian skipper Omar Colley handled the ball in the 39th minute with a Kenyan player through on goal, denying him a clear chance. The referee, however, showed only a yellow card, despite protests from Kenya, who demanded a red card.
After the break, McCarthy made an attacking change at the restart, bringing on Australia-born William Lenkupae for his debut, replacing the largely quiet Gonzalez.
Ten minutes into the second half, Barrow made amends to his missed penalty after scoring a spectacular goal to give The Gambia the lead. Six minutes later, Minteh made it 2-0 after twisting and turning Anyembe inside the area before beating Otieno again. Moments later, Otieno denied Gambia a third with a goal-line block as Kenya’s backline struggled.
Stars got a lifeline midway through the second half when they were awarded a spot kick after Momodou Njie was adjudged to have brought down Jonah Ayunga in the box a penalty which talisman McCarthy termed as ‘soft’ adding he would have been furious if the same penalty was awarded to the opponent.
Six minutes later, substitute Mohammed Bajaber stole the show with a wonderful strike from inside the area to level the scores and set the stage for a tense finish.
Gambia, went ahead again in the 83rd minute through Barrow, who literally walked the ball into the net after Kenya’s defense stood waiting for an offside flag that never came.
Kenya would however have the last say in the game when Lenkunpae scored a 96th minute leveler on his debut.
Perfect substitutes secure Stars’ points on debut
Getting the call up to the national team for the first time is really joyous but the feeling gets better when you enter the pitch even for a few minutes. However, the feeling gets even better when you score on your debut. That was the reality for Mohammed Bajaber and  William Lenkupae who both scored on debut to level the game at different time with the former leveling for 2-2 while Lenkupae scored the 96th minute equalizer.
Bajaber, who came on together with Jonah Ayunga replacing John Avire and Erick Johanna scored the Stars’ second goal on the 75th minute after unleashing a long range shot that beat the Gambian goalie Ebrima Jarju. As Gambia looked set to secure all three points, Lenkupae equalized in the dying moments of added time capitalizing on a long throw-in to send the Stars bench wild, securing a crucial point for Harambee Stars.
Bajaber credit his goal to practice saying: “It was not by luck, as I have been working on the art for some time. I used to be the first player to be on the pitch, during my times at City Stars just to fine-tune my scoring instincts. I have also been putting in individual effort at my current club (Kenya Police).”
Bajaber also scored on his Police debut after switching from City Stars during the mid-season transfer in January.
Rival Watch
Kenya play Gabon at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday at 4pm.
Stars Sunday opponents shot to the top of the group after a double from Denis Bouanga and an opener by Jim Allevinah inspired  them to an easy 3-0 home win over lowly-ranked Seychelles.
Gabon top group F on 12 points after five games while Kenya sits fourth with six points. Gambia remain fifth with four points while Cote d’Ivoire sit second on 10 as Burundi settle for third on seven points. The two sides face off today.