Kenya men's deaf football team settled for a 9th place finish after thumping Somaliland 5-2 in a play-off tie at Moi Stadium, Kasarani on Monday evening.
Philip Kirui, Bashir Yahye, Muinde Mweu, and Gasper Asituha were the scorers for the hosts as they raced to a 3-0 lead at the half hour mark. After a sumptuous freekick in the 14th minute that breezed past the Somaliland wall into the net, Kirui notched the second ten minutes later after latching onto a cross from the right-wing by Kennedy Kiptoo.
The Somaliland defence seemed all at sea whenever the Kenyans launched an attack. They were once more made to pay in the 36th minute when a mix-up between the custodian and his defenders allowed skipper Mweu to shoot into an unmanned net. In the second half, Kenya picked up from where they left and immediately celebrated their fourth goal courtesy of a Yahye penalty after Kevin Njagi was fouled in the box.
A goalkeeping error became the highlight reel after Thor Mwai made a mistake that allowed a tame Ahmed Siyad shot to squirm through his leg in the 75th minute. Three minutes later, Siyad pulled one back for the opponents when he brought down a lobbed cross from the right-wing and calmly chipped the ball over Mwai in goal. The Kenyan Squad managed to redeem themselves after a painful defeat early on facing Mali. The group A match saw Mali take the win beating Kenya 4-2 in a rather one sided match.
Kenyan coach Ben Omukuba stated that despite the team posting dismal performances, the future of the players is bright.
"I'm glad that the players showed up today and recorded a good result. We began the tournament on a poor note and lost the matches that could have propelled us into the quarterfinals. But that aside, I believe individual players have capabilities to perform well going forward. It's sad we won't represent the continent in the next year's Deaflympics in Brazil, but that's the nature of the sport," said the tactician.