Kenya national football team head coach Benni McCarthy expressed deep frustration with match officials following the Harambee Stars’ narrow 1-0 defeat to Guinea in their matchday two fixture of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers at the Stade du 28 Septembre.
Despite entering the West African fixture as clear underdogs against a star-studded opponent, Kenya delivered a resilient tactical performance. However, a 32nd-minute strike from Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy proved to be the decisive moment of the encounter, leaving the Harambee Stars with just one point from their opening two group matches.
The central talking point of the match revolved around the referee’s handling of Guinea’s breakthrough goal. McCarthy strongly disputed the legitimacy of the strike, asserting that the referee ignored an obvious foul in the build-up right before the ball was forced past the Kenyan goalkeeper.
Highlighting the absence of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in the qualifiers, the South African legend argued that high-level continental fixtures suffer immensely without video review systems to eliminate clear officiating errors.
“I think the referee didn’t have a good day today because if you watched the match, it was very one-sided and especially for the goal, he was looking at the foul that happened and completely ignored it and allowed the goal to stand. If there was VAR… a high-level match, the goal would have been disallowed,” McCarthy remarked.
The Harambee Stars coach admitted that his visible anger on the touchline also stemmed from watching his squad squander promising opportunities. Throughout the second half, Kenya pushed aggressively for an equalizer, introducing fresh legs to pin the hosts back, but final-pass composure repeatedly let them down.
Despite the unfavorable result, McCarthy was quick to praise his squad’s determination and work ethic against a side boasting extensive top-tier European experience. Many pundits had predicted a heavy defeat for the visitors, but Kenya created several nerve-wracking moments that unsettled the Guinean backline.
“If we had some of the experience that Guinea had, I think maybe it would have been a different situation because we created some nerve-wracking moments for them, but unfortunately, in the final third, we lacked a bit of experience,” McCarthy explained.
“I’m very happy for the players for the fight. People expected us to lose by three, four or five, but Guinea were very fortunate that we didn’t make use of the opportunities that we created.”
Following the conclusion of the match in Conakry, Guinea moved to three points in Group D standings, while South Africa maintains the top spot with six points. Kenya currently sits on one point alongside Eritrea as they look ahead to their upcoming qualification fixtures.
