Harambee Stars showcased grit and resilience on Thursday evening as they held Angola to a dramatic 1-1 draw in their second CHAN 2024 Group A clash, despite playing with 10 men for more than 70 minutes.
An early setback saw Kenya reduced to 10 men in the 21st minute, after Marvin Nabwire was shown a red card, but the home side refused to back down. Angola capitalized on the numerical advantage to open the scoring in the first half. However, Kenya hit back through midfielder Austin Odhiambo, who calmly converted a penalty to bring the score level.
The real star of the night was goalkeeper Byrne Omondi, who pulled off a series of crucial saves to keep Kenya in the contest. His commanding presence and sharp reflexes frustrated the Angolan attack, including a point-blank stop in the 72nd minute.
Drama struck late in the game when Angola thought they had scored the winner, only for VAR to intervene and rule out the goal for offside, sending the Kasarani crowd into jubilation.
The result sees Kenya climb to the top of Group A with four points from two matches, maintaining strong hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Over at Nyayo Stadium, two-time CHAN champions DR Congo flexed their continental pedigree with a commanding 2-0 win over Zambia.
Ibrahim Matobo broke the deadlock in the first half before Malanga Mwaku sealed the win with a well-taken second goal in the 68th minute. The result gives DR Congo their first win of the tournament and keeps their quarter-final hopes alive.