NAIROBI, Kenya, November 15- Seychelles left Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium reeling from a 4-0 defeat on Tuesday but the side drew out positives from the chastening experience.
“We played against a good side. We have work to do when we go back home to prepare for the future. Technically they played short passes better, they were faster than us and maybe the (high) altitude had something to do with it, it is well known Kenyans are good runners,” Seychelles captain, Don Annacoura, said post-match.
“When we play against such a team in future, we need to have better conditioning. In the first place, we should have scored the first goal. Back home, the same happened and we cannot know what would have happened if we scored first,” he added.
His coach, Ralph Jean-Louis lauded the winners admitting the two matches had been a steep learning curve for his young charges.
“We are a team in progression, I expect the young lads to learn from the match and the experience they got to help us move from here. We need to work hard on the speed of play, the Kenyans were more comfortable on the ball, they circulated the ball quicker than us,” he said.
The Islanders had conceded to the onerous task ahead of the them before the match after conceding thrice in the home leg in Victoria and were content to hold the hosts in the opening exchanges.
A 20th minute goal by Brian Mandela from a cheaply defended Kevin Kimani corner deflated them as their rearguard caved in to the pressure that until the opener, they seemed content with.
“After the first goal, they kept coming and my team could not find the answers or hit them on the break and when we got the chances, the final quality ball was lacking,” Jean-Louis rued.
“There are other tournaments to look forward to look up to, the 2013 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers and the 2018 World Cup and we have no choice but to work hard,” he summed.
