World Cup Qualifying: McKinstry hails Kenya’s fighting spirit despite falling to Gambia

Gambia national team head coach Jonathan McKinstry praised Kenya’s fighting spirit even when they went down after losing 3-1 in their FIFA World Cup qualifying Group F fixture at Kasarani Stadium on Friday.

In a fixture many Kenyans expected victory, Gambia sturnned the hosts with three first half goals by Saidy Sinyan, who flicked in from a Yankuba Minteh delivery, before the Brighton star added the second and set up the third for Musa Barrow.

Substitute Ryan Ogam pulled a goal back for Kenya with only nine minutes left to the clock but it was not enough to deny the Scorpions historic victory in the group stages of the qualifiers.

“Kenya’s work rate is remarkable. When they were 3-0 down, they never stopped running. Credit to their coaches and players. But in the end, we knew our technical quality would show,” said the former Gor Mahia coach.

“I don’t know that there’s a team on the continent that works harder than the Harambee Stars. Even when they are 3-0 down, they’re still running, running, running, they’re not giving up. They really wanted something from the game. That’s huge credit to the coaches and the character of the players.”

Asked what changed from the first meeting between the two sides which ended in a 3-3 draw, the Northern Irish tactician said: “Back then, we were very disappointed because we needed to have won the game. We could have been four or five goals ahead, but let Kenya back into the game.”

The victory lifted Gambia to seven points and above Kenya, who have (six), while the top of the pool remained led by Gabon (18) ahead of Ivory Coast (16) with three matches to play.

⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.