Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has come to the defence of Gor Mahia duo Byrne Omondi and Mike Kibwage following their suspension by the club after their heavy defeat to Pyramids FC in the CAF Champions League.
Goalkeeper Byrne Omondi and defender Mike Kibwage featured for Gor Mahia during their second-leg CAF Champions League preliminary round clash against Pyramids in Egypt where the record SportPesa League champions suffered a 5-1 defeat.
The result saw Gor Mahia exit the competition after losing 7-1 on aggregate, with the club subsequently suspending the two players while raising concerns over their performances during the tie.
However, McCarthy has questioned the criticism directed at the two players, arguing that Gor Mahia’s defeat was a collective failure rather than something that could be attributed to individual players.
“I watched the game and I thought the criticism was quite harsh. Pyramids are a very elite team and it’s expected,” McCarthy said.
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McCarthy also pointed to the quality of the Pyramids squad and their technical setup noting that Gor Mahia were facing a side with considerable resources and experience at continental level.
“Unfortunately for Gor Mahia, they have nothing to be ashamed of because this [Pyramids FC] is a team that three, four years ago were the best team in Africa. They won the CAF Champions League. They are a powerful team with incredible resources, very wealthy and a very established club, so it is difficult to compete.”
“They also happen to have a South African coach at the helm, a very good coach, very tactically smart,” he added.
The former South Africa international believes Gor Mahia were always going to face an uphill task after managing only a narrow deficit in the first leg before travelling to Egypt for the return fixture.
“For Gor Mahia to have lost by a small margin at home and then to go there was very hard. So I think it was a collective effort,” McCarthy said.
“I think for people to point fingers at two individual players, I felt it was very harsh because it was a collective effort, it was a team effort. The team lost. It wasn’t anybody’s fault; they were up against a superior team. So you can’t be pointing fingers just at two individuals.”
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McCarthy’s defence of Omondi and Kibwage is also influenced by his previous experience working with the two players in the national team.
The Harambee Stars coach has previously relied on both players including during Kenya’s CHAN campaign where he believes they performed at a high level.
“Unfortunately for them, it’s two individuals that I know very well because I’ve had them in my squad for many matches previously, and in the CHAN they were unbelievable for me,” McCarthy said.
“The trust and the belief I have in these players, their fight is with their club. If the club feels that they detected something the players did wrong, that’s on them, nothing to do with me.”
McCarthy made it clear that Gor Mahia’s decision would not influence his assessment of the two players when selecting his national team squad with the duo now part of the squad set to face Eritrea on Saturday in the AFCON2027 Qualifiers.
“I do my job. They are players that I know very well, they’ve done exceptionally well for me and I have full confidence in them,” he said.
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“I know if I select them, when they are with me for however long in this camp, they will always give me 110 percent. And for me, that’s good enough.”
The coach has consequently retained his faith in both players as Kenya prepare for their upcoming AFCON 2027 qualifying assignments, with Omondi and Kibwage included in his plans despite their situation at club level.
McCarthy insists their previous performances for Harambee Stars are enough to warrant his confidence stressing that he will judge the players based on what they deliver while on international duty.
“That’s why I felt that I will have them part of my squad because they’ve never disappointed me in the past,” McCarthy said.
“And just because of the club suspending them for suspicions that the club have, that’s down to the club, not down to me. I am very happy to have those players in the squad and what they can bring and how they can help the national team going forward.”