Rolls-Royce Austin Odhiambo lives up to tag on Harambee Stars' attritional day

"Austin playing in the No.10 role instead of dropping deeper to collect the ball from midfield was crucial.

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Yes, he is good on the ball, but he is more dangerous when he is higher up the pitch in the final third. He was everything," Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy said.

The odds are that those words were echoed in the aftermath of Kenya's historic African Nations Championship (CHAN) win against DR Congo on Sunday, 3 August, but that is not the case.

They are, instead, from little under two months ago, the first time many heard the South African drop the seemingly expected audibles about a player they highly regarded.

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It certainly took McCarthy a while to lay an eye on him, perhaps only pushed to hand him a call-up after former skipper and CHAN ambassador Victor Wanyama pulled out of a surprise return to the squad due to personal reasons.

The Gor Mahia midfielder, in an alternate universe, could well have missed out on that trip to Morocco, but reality handed him a chance to star against lowly-ranked Chad, eliciting such praises for a man who had been before that, pleading patience to get an elusive victory.

On Sunday, if there still existed reservations about his quality, Austine Odhiambo quietly declared them dead and buried.

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A day removed at the same ground, the midfielder almost pleaded for help to disentangle from a group of kids asking for countless selfies, just a slight indication of the reverence he held going to a home tournament.

The status he holds in the game has earned him nicknames like Rolls-Royce, MVP, and Starboy.

One would bet, given his calm yet confident aura, he knew he would be the one to call upon on a tense, historic day and atmosphere.

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The first few minutes at the place he walked to a swarm of excited kids was, however, looking a bit like a warzone.

Along with a boisterous atmosphere, tackles were flying all around, constantly breaking up any advances the home side attempted in gaining some flow.

A VAR call to disallow a DR Congo goal did not help to calm some apparent nerves, and even McCarthy looked frustrated from the sidelines.

Soon enough, there was concern as David Sakwa was on the receiving end of a big blow to his head, which for a moment had head in hands.

It was not the ideal start to a first CHAN tournament on home soil, but deep down, there was always one number to call upon.

The sequence, just minutes to the break, will be played over and over again, and it came at just the right time.

It all came from a simple tap from Sakwa, who had fortunately shaken off some cobwebs, and the rest was magic.

In space, Odhiambo took one touch with the right, another with the left to get past a troubled last man, before nailing what will be known as the one million shillings goal.

If it escaped many, not even a slight slip affected Odhiambo's strike.

1-0, delirium, troubles forgotten, and the coming to light of a star.

McCarthy, initially throwing furious hands up in the air in this battle of attrition, was up on the back of one of his staff, wheeling away in celebration.

Another torrid half came and passed by, but the only man who was primed to conjure some magic had already done his job.

One would argue the sight of him shaking off a dead leg minutes before the end was the only stuff not worth remembering.

The scary part going forward is that this was only the start. If in doubt, check out his demeanour walking down the dressing room. Zero stress, up next Angola.