KENYA CREATE ONE OF SEVERAL WEEKEND SHOCKS
Victory for Kenya in Namibia’s World Cup qualifying group represents one of several upset results on the second weekend of preliminary matches around Africa.
AJ Auxerre striker Denis Oliech scored twice as the Harambee Stars recorded a surprise 2-0 home win over Group Two favourites Guinea in Nairobi on Saturday.
Zimbabwe now head the standings after beating the Brave Warriors by the same scoreline with goals from, Orlando Pirates striker Gilbert Mushangazhike.
They have four points, followed by Kenya and Namibia on three and Guinea on one..
Among the other upset results saw Togo suffer an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Swaziland and Cote d’Ivoire held to a disappointing goalless draw in Madagascar.
Swaziland won their first World Cup qualifier for 15 years in beating Togo, whose line-up included Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor while in Praia, the Cape Verde Islands were 1-0 winners over Tanzania.
The lack of attacking prowess for the Ivorians was all too evident as they were held to a goalless draw in Antananarivo, forced to play without Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Aruna Dindane.
But for the rest, results went as expected, starting on Friday when African champions Egypt eased past Djibouti 4-0 while Algeria won their first points in a 3-0 home win over Liberia.
Fullback Yamba Asha, who missed the last World Cup finals because of a drugs ban, scored a 71st minute winner for Angola as they won 2-1 away over Niger on Sunday
Niger had taken a third minute lead through Abdulkarim Dakawa but Flavio equalised on the half-hour mark.
Two goals from Nottingham Forest striker Junior Agogo saw Ghana also post a second successive triumph but they concede late goals in a dramatic finish to the match played in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
A four goal spree away from home for Morocco put the north Africans among the early pace setters in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday, as they beat Mauritania 4-1 to record a second successive win.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria were also winners for a second successive weekend to take early leads in their respective African qualifying zone groups.
African Footballer of the Year Frederic Kanoute scored both as Mali won 2-1 away in Chad while a scrambled goal in the last minute from Everton defender Joseph Yobo saw Nigeria win 1-0 away in Sierra Leone.
Burkina Faso went to the top of Group Nine with a 2-0 home win over Burundi in Ouagadougou.
Tarik Sektioui blasted home an early free kick to give Morocco the lead in Nouakchott before Hibernian midfielder Abdessalam Benjelloun added a second in the 37th minute.
Two more goals in the second half from Youssef Safri and Houssine Kharja ensured an easy triumph with Mauritania reducing the score through a late penalty from Dominique da Silva.
Tunisia and South Africa, beaten in their opening matches last weekend, picked up their first points against unfancied opposition.
Tunisia were 2-0 victors in the Seychelles with goals from Issam Jomaa and Chouki Ben Saada while South Africa beat Equatorial Guinea 4-1 in Pretoria.
Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, who have also been to past World Cup finals tournaments, won their respective games on Sunday. But 2002 quarter-finalists Senegal were held to a 0-0 draw in the Gambia.
Samuel Eto’o was among the scorers as Cameroon breezed past hosts Mauritius 3-0 in Group One while a twice-taken penalty from Zola Matumona ensured a narrow 1-0 home win for the Congolese over Malawi in Kinshasa.
Botswana and Rwanda both won away from home while Razak Omotoyossi scored twice to give Benin the biggest win of the day – a 4-1 home triumph over Uganda.
A further 23 qualifying matches will be played around Africa this coming weekend.
|