Guinea defeated Kenya 1-0 on Thursday to compound the Harambee Stars’ difficult start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign at the Stade du 28 Septembre in Conakry.
Kenya entered the encounter looking for their first win after opening their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Eritrea in Nairobi.
Guinea, meanwhile, were also seeking a response after losing 2-1 to South Africa in their opening Group D fixture.
The hosts broke the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark through Aliou Baldé.
Serhou Guirassy combined with Baldé before the Borussia Dortmund striker received the ball again and set up his teammate, who finished past Kenya goalkeeper Byrne Omondi.
Kenya came close to levelling the scores before the break when Job Ochieng found space inside the Guinea box, but Ben Stanley’s heavy touch prevented the opportunity from being converted.
Guinea nearly doubled their advantage moments later when Abdoul Karim Traoré raced through on goal following a pass from Ousmane Diabaté.
Omondi, however, produced an excellent save to deny him.
Kenya coach, Benni McCarthy responded at the start of the second half by introducing Ryan Ogam and Timothy Ouma for Micah Obiero and Ochieng.
Ogam almost made an immediate impact, forcing goalkeeper Mohamed Camara into a save with a powerful effort.
McCarthy made another attacking change around the hour mark, bringing on Shariff Musa for Mohammed Bajaber, but the Harambee Stars were unable to find an equaliser as Guinea held on for all three points.
The victory lifted Guinea to second place in Group D with three points, while South Africa remained top after thrashing Eritrea 5-0 to move to six points.
Kenya will next face Rwanda in a friendly on Monday, October 6, as McCarthy’s side continues preparations ahead of their next competitive assignment.
