Harambee Stars produced a spirited comeback to secure a 2-2 draw against South Africa in their 2027 AFCON Group D encounter at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday night, with captain Michael Olunga reaching a historic milestone in the process.
Kenya recovered from behind twice to frustrate the hosts, with substitute Ryan Ogam scoring a dramatic late equaliser to earn Benni McCarthy’s men a valuable point on his emotional return to his homeland.
The encounter started poorly for the visitors, who fell behind in the ninth minute after defender Amos Wanjala inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, handing Bafana Bafana an early advantage.
The setback forced Kenya to reorganize and find a response against a South African side that had dominated their opening two qualifying matches. Harambee Stars gradually grew into the contest, showing greater attacking intent as they searched for an equaliser.
Their persistence paid off shortly before the interval when referee pointed to the penalty spot following a handball by South African defender Thabang Matuludi from Frank Odhiambo’s delivery.
Captain Olunga stepped forward and calmly converted the spot-kick in the 44th minute, sending goalkeeper Ronwen Williams the wrong way to restore parity.
The goal carried enormous personal significance for the Al Duhail striker, taking his international tally to 35 goals and drawing him level with Gor Mahia legend William Ouma as Kenya’s all-time leading scorer.
Olunga’s achievement comes after an extended absence from the national team following a serious pelvic injury that required surgery earlier this year. His return to the squad has now been marked by a record-equalling contribution on one of Kenya’s biggest international stages.
South Africa, however, were unwilling to surrender their home advantage. They increased their attacking pressure after the break and eventually regained the lead in the 77th minute through Relebohile Mofokeng, whose clinical finish put Bafana Bafana 2-1 ahead.
With time running out, Kenya appeared destined for another frustrating defeat against their opponents, but McCarthy’s substitutions provided the spark needed to rescue the contest.
Ogam, introduced from the bench, delivered when it mattered most, finding the back of the net in the 90th minute after South Africa failed to deal with a set-piece situation. The forward collected the ball, created space and fired a low finish beyond Williams to silence the home crowd and secure a share of the spoils.
The result will provide McCarthy with encouragement following a difficult start to Kenya’s Group D campaign. The Stars had drawn 1-1 with Eritrea before losing 1-0 to Guinea, making Friday’s performance an important demonstration of their ability to compete against established continental opposition.
Although Kenya have already secured automatic qualification for AFCON 2027 as co-hosts alongside Uganda and Tanzania, the encounter offered a valuable assessment of the squad’s progress ahead of next year’s tournament.
Attention now shifts to the return fixture, with the two sides scheduled to meet at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Tuesday, November 17.
