Kenya coach and former Bafana Bafana striker Benni McCarthy says his side will adopt an attacking approach when the teams meet at Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium on Tuesday at 6pm SA time.
The Harambee Stars held South Africa to a 2-2 draw at Orlando Amstel Arena on Friday, but McCarthy believes the return fixture will present a different challenge for the visitors.
Bafana Bafana remain top of Group D in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying campaign, although Kenya have already secured their place at next year’s tournament as one of the co-hosts alongside Uganda and Tanzania.
As a result, only one team from Group D will qualify through the group standings.
McCarthy said Kenya had been cautious in Friday’s match because they were playing away from home, but he expects his team to show greater ambition in Nairobi.
“In Kenya we are home. When you play away from home, it is always difficult; you can’t go guns blazing. You know you have to respect the opponent, so I think we tried to manage the game, but we also tried to win the football match, which was impossible, but we got a positive result from it, but when we go home it will be different,” McCarthy said.
The former Bafana Bafana forward also pointed to the altitude and climate in Kenya as factors that could test South Africa, while stressing that his own players are familiar with those conditions.
He said the draw had shown Kenya were capable of causing problems when they played with greater attacking intent.
“I am not sure if South Africa will be accustomed to the altitude and the climate that’s in Kenya, and our players are accustomed to it. So, yeah, we will be looking to take the game to them because we’ve seen today [Friday] that when we want to play, we can play. We are going to do that [taking the match to Bafana] from the first minute, but we will also be aware of the threat that they pose.”
Kenya’s approach will therefore be aggressive from the start, although McCarthy said his side must remain alert to the quality and danger posed by Bafana Bafana.
South Africa will be seeking a stronger result in Nairobi after surrendering a two-goal lead in the opening meeting, while Kenya will aim to build on the momentum of their performance in Johannesburg.
The second Group D fixture between the sides will be played at Nyayo National Stadium on Tuesday evening.
