'He needs to risk': Firat explains situation leading to Clarke Oduor's substitution

In the background of Kenya’s 1-0 loss to South Sudan on Tuesday 13 September at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, a weird scenario happened nine minutes to the close of the international friendly match-up.

Having been called up from the substitutes’ bench and into the fray for what was his second ever appearance in a Kenyan shirt since his debut in October 2020, Clarke Oduor could only last 22 minutes on the pitch before he was substituted out.

The Bradford City man had been introduced into the game in place of injured Masud Juma, and after a few minutes of action, primarily on the left side of the Kenyan attack, he was then surprisingly having close to a minute’s conversation with head coach Engin Firat on the touchline as Kakamega Homeboyz striker Moses Shummah took his place in the 81st minute.

His substitution out of the game, wasn’t down to any form of malice as Firat explained his decision post-game.

“First of all, this is the reason why we have friendly matches,” he said. “I could have put in an experienced player but I decided to see what Clarke [Oduor] could do in such an aggressive match.

“But when he came on, I had the feeling that he was a little afraid. It’s as if he has a brake. He needs to let it go and I believe we will have a good player on the side with him.”

Asked about the conversation he had with him on the sidelines before returning to the bench, Firat said: “I told him he has great capability but he needs to show it on the field. He has real capacity and it is good that he is now playing more often in his club as an attacking midfielder.

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“But there are things we need to change because I needed him to pass more inside and there were moments where he always passed to the side.”

In need of a goal, Firat urged that Oduor “needs to learn to risk” and that more opportunities would be offered in the upcoming matches.

In addition to that, Firat thought that his biggest task ahead was how to inject some creativity in the Kenyan side as he admitted that the Kenyan league is missing in a lot of creative players.

“It was honestly a good performance overall [against South Sudan] because we pressed well, worked hard and were physical,” the Turkish tactician offered. “But with our opponents defending so deeply and with very strong central defenders, I needed to see something from our players. As I said, it is a learning process and I will make the necessary adjustments.

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“It was maybe good that Ayub Timbe was missing because we learnt about the rest. Better to lose now than in any qualifying game.”

Kenya is set to begin its 2026 World Cup qualification journey away against Gabon on 13 November 2023.