Kapaito dedicates his first Harambee Stars goal to his parents

Red-hot Kariobangi Sharks forward Erick Kapaito has elected to dedicate his first Harambee Stars goal to his parents.

Kapaito opened his goal account with the national team on Monday in a friendly match against Tanzania which ended 2-1 in favor of Stars at the Nyayo National Stadium.

The lanky hitman who was unused last weekend when Stars saw off South Sudan by a solitary goal at the same venue in another build up match to the final 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers headed home Lawrence Juma’s cross in the 20th minute to break the deadlock as well register his first Stars goal.

The former Most Valuable Player (MVP) revealed that his parents were a strong pillar in his career which took off in Namanga, briefly nourished in South Africa and exposed to the world at FC Talanta.

He said they were eagerly waiting for his first goal while in the national team colors and it was only fair to dedicate it to them.

“My parents have been supporting me in my career and the goal was theirs. They encouraged me to take football seriously and I know this was the big moment they were waiting to celebrate,” he disclosed

Kapaito who leads the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) scoring charts with fourteen goals said the goal was a welcome motivation in his bid to convince coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee to include him in the final squad for the remaining Afcon qualifiers.

Stars are set to host Egypt in the penultimate Afcon qualifier match on March 22 before travelling to tackle Togo in their final pool G qualifier on March 30.

Before the two matches, Mulee’s charges will rekindle their rivalry with Tanzania again on Thursday in yet another friendly match.

" It is the dream of every player to represent his national team. Starting and scoring against Tanzania was a dream come true and I believe this will be the first of many to come. We have three important matches this month and i hope the goal and my performance will compel the coach to consider me for the assignments ahead of us," he added

The on-form striker also noted that the goal melted the pressure to replicate his scoring instincts in the league at the national team off his shoulders.