Harambee Stars clobber Namibia in Jo’burg to stabilize AFCON ’25 hunt

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 10 – Second half goals from John Avire and Duke Abuya were all Kenya’s Harambee Stars needed as they beat Namibia 2-1 at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg to put their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) hopes steady after two matches.

Deon Hotto scored a last gasp freekick, but it was too little too late as Kenya had already sealed the win.

With the win, Stars move top of Group J ahead of Cameroon, who played to a 0-0 draw with Zimbabwe in the other group match played in Kampala.

A better second half performance saw Stars tear down the Brave Warriors, as they moved to four points, and potentially top of Group J.

Avire broke the deadlock with a sumptuous freekick before a textbook counter attack saw Abuya slot in the second with 14 minutes left to seal the victory away from home.

Stars were not at their best in the opening 45 minutes as they struggled to create an effort on target. The closest they came to goal was when Avire hang in the air to connect to an Abuya cross from the left, but his effort rose way over the bar.

On the contrary, Namibia were more offensive and inside the opening 10 minutes, Prince Tjueza and Hotto had worked Bryne Omondi in the Kenyan goal with shots that the latter handled well.

They also came close off a freekick, Omondi doing well to put a fingertip to Tjueza’s well curled effort for a fruitless corner.

In the second half, Stars started better and were rewarded when Avire curled home a brilliant freekick from the edge of the box after Abuya had been fouled at the edge of the box.

The Namibians put in a concerted effort to try and rally back, but Kenya’s defense line was hawkeyed to ensure they kept the potent attackline of Hotto, Tjueza and Peter Shalulile at bay.

And, off a brilliant piece of counter attacking play, Stars made it 2-0 in the 76^th minute. A corner was well defended into the path of Eric ‘Marcelo’ Ouma on the left. The Poland-based defender turbo-charged past his marker before slashing a low cross that Abuya duly turned home.

Namibia finally got one back in the 95^th minute when Hotto curled a freekick from distance, but it proved to be the last kick of the game.