Harambee Stars Arrive, Up Against A mountain

Kenya’s Harambee Stars flew into Lagos on Wednesday afternoon hoping they would not be too much of a mincemeat for African champions Nigeria in Saturday’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Calabar.

A delegation of 20 players and 11 officials will sleep over in Lagos before flying into Calabar on Thursday, to be accommodated at Channel View Hotel.

The supercharged Nigerians, with a full house training in Canaan City for the showdown, believe they have all going for them as they file out against a side that had never beaten them previously.

Nigeria and Kenya have clashed at senior level 13 times previously, with Nigeria coming out tops in 11 of them, the remaining two drawn.

Their first-ever meeting was on May 8, 1968 when the Nigerians, on the way from an Olympic Games qualifying match in Ethiopia, stopped by in Nairobi for a friendly and inflicted a 2-1 defeat on their hosts.