Rising Stars assistant coach Anthony Akhulia has revealed the major setback Kenya faced during the U20 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt.

According to the Bidco United head coach, injuries influenced their tactical plans as key players were sidelined.

Kenya’s camp suffered a major injury blow six days before the tournament kicked off in Egypt when first-choice left back Telena Ochieng was injured during a friendly match against Ghana. He was not available for all Rising Stars games.

Kenya also suffered another huge blow when first-choice goalkeeper Bernard Jairo got injured during the opening match against Morocco at the 30 June Stadium. He did not recover quickly and was not part of the team that played against Tunisia and Nigeria.

“Those two players were part and parcel of the starting team. Telena was at the centre of the tactical formations within the defense setup. Unfortunately, he got injured days before our first match, disorienting the team. Jairo had a good performance against Morocco despite that we conceded and lost the game,” Akhulia told a local publication.

“The two injuries forced us to change a lot of things tactically within a short time,” he added.

Replacements

Collins Ochieng was fielded to fill the position left by Telena in the match against Morocco, and at right back, Humphrey Obino was deployed. In goal, Wyclifford Oduor was assigned the goalkeeping duties in place of Jairo.

“The guys who stepped in did a good job. I must commend Wyclifford Collins and Manzur for their efforts,” Akhulia added.