Kenya succumb to defeat as Malawi win U20 Four Nations tourney

Malawi U20 thrashed the Kenya U20 team 3-1 on Sunday evening to win the Four Nations tournament hosted in the Southern African nation.

The young warriors scored two goals in the first half and added a third in the dying minutes of the game to win the tournament while Rising Stars’ only goal of the game was scored by Ezekiah Omuri in the second half of the game.

Malawi looked threatening for the first fifteen minutes of the game putting the Rising Stars under intense pressure. Issa Emuria who plies his trade for Ulinzi Stars FC pulled a fine save to deny the hosts in the seventh minute.

Amidst pressure, Byron Ochieng who plays for Sofapaka entered into the referee's book after a foul play in the 14th minute.

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In the 36th minute, Bob Mpinganjira coached side showcased an electrifying spectacle of footballing prowess and opened the scoring.

Emmanuel Savieli broke the deadlock after Rising Stars' defenders failed to clear a loose ball in the dangerous area, Savieli's well-hit low shot going past Emuria.

The young Warriors inflicted more pain on the Rising Stars by doubling their lead in the additional minutes of the first half.

This was after the Kenya U20 team lost the ball in the middle of the park and Malawi capitalized on the blunder to punish them. Chifunilo Kamenya who was unmarked easily converted from a close range.

The first half ended with Anthony Akhulia's side trailing and struggling to weave together complete passes over the overzealous Malawi.

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Akhulia introduced two fresh legs at the start of the second half to bolster his side. He introduced Ryan Ogam and Syphas Owour for Timothy Ouma and Christopher Koloti to bolster his midfield which looked non-existent in the first half.

The changes gave Rising Stars the much-needed impetus and almost pulled one back in the 54th minute but Malawi's defenders stood tall to clear the danger.

Akhulia introduced two more players to boast his forward line by introducing Paul Ochuoga and Ezekiah Omuri in place of Linus Munyao and Hassan Beja.

Ezekiah, the Shabana FC forward, got directly into action and helped Rising Stars pull one back following an assist from Slyphas Owour. This followed a goalkeeping error from Sande Amos.

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Kenya could have levelled the score in the 82nd minute but failed to utilize a one-on-one opportunity. Thereafter, Madalitso added a third in the additional minutes to win the tournament.

The result left Malawi on 6 points while Kenya had 3 and Zimbabwe 0.

The Rising Stars started their campaign with a strong 3-1 win over Zimbabwe on Friday at the Bingu Stadium.

The hosts won their opener against Zimbabwe 3-2, however, Kenya topped the group due to a goal difference of +2.

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