McCarthy lauds VAR after Harambee Stars dramatic draw with Angola

An exhausted Kenya head coach Benni McCarthy was extremely proud of his players’ commitment and grit after they battled to a dramatic 1-1 draw against Angola on Thursday in the African Nations Championship (CHAN 2024).

Despite playing under the lights for more than 70 minutes with 10 men in their second Group A match at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Harambee Stars’ resilient display earned praise from the former Bafana Bafana man.

Kenya went behind as early as the sixth minute when Beni Jetour's pinpoint cross found an unmarked Jó Paciência in the box, who tapped in from close range to give Pedro Goncalves’ men the lead.

Gor Mahia creative midfielder Austin Odhiambo levelled the score in the 12th minute, converting a pressure penalty awarded after a VAR review.

McCarthy, speaking to the media in the mixed zone after the match, expressed optimism about what he saw from his players.

“There’s some small mistakes that we need to work on. I’m extremely happy with the performance. I am happy and proud of the attitude and effort shown by my players and that they gave the fans a point,” he said.

Red card and VAR

The former Man United coach quickly admitted that the early red card changed the course of the game, but believed his team could have secured more than a draw had they finished the game with 11 men.

“We got punished because we got a player sent off, so we played almost 80 minutes with 10 men. The attitude and mentality of the players were incredible. As good as Angola was, I felt it was a missed opportunity for us. With 11 players, we could have gotten more than what we did,” McCarthy explained.

The South African tactician also detailed his frustration at the late counterattack, where Harambee Stars players made the wrong decision with the final pass, consequently leading to them conceding on the other end.

“When you work so hard to get yourself in the game. The thought process and that final decision in the last minute, you know, it was a counterattack for us. The right pass for us ends up in the back of the net. We made a wrong decision, and they went to the other end and scored,” he said.

The epic match saw several key Video Assistant Referee (VAR) interventions, including Odhiambo’s penalty and a disallowed Angolan goal in the last minute of the game. McCarthy admitted he initially did not see the foul that led to the spot kick.

“It was two moments that I completely missed. I didn’t see the penalty from Austin, because I was more furious about him wanting to take an extra touch inside the box because we work on these things, and the player clipped him. I missed it but VAR saw it. In my head I thought I should go apologise to the player. He got stamped on,” McCarthy noted.

On Angola’s disallowed goal, McCarthy praised the officiating, saying the player was completely offside, considering the striker was goalside when the cross was played.

“In the game, I thought it was a goal, but when the image came back, I saw it was offside. Whoever was on VAR was 100 per cent spot on with the correct decision. The Angolan player was blocking the defender, which means he was goalside, so he was offside. It would have been a wrong decision that would have cost us three points if the goal was given,” he stated.

Despite the mental and physical toll, McCarthy is optimistic about his team’s chances heading into their final group match against an experienced Morocco side on Sunday, August 17, at Kasarani.

“I was exhausted. I felt for the players. When you play such a game against a team that knows how to control and move, Angola kept the ball very well and a lot of us are not used to the occasion. So there was a lot of panic and a lot of players not being comfortable within themselves to know that you can’t afford to make such mistakes at this level,” he concluded.

Kenya is now in pole position (Group A) to reach the knockout stages, with four points after two games.