Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has shed light on the challenges his team faced after being reduced to 10 men, describing it as one of the most difficult situations he’s had to manage.
The team was forced to play nearly 70 minutes a man down after Marvin Nabwire was shown a red card in the 21st minute during their second CHAN 2024 group stage encounter against Angola.
Looking ahead, McCarthy is now proceeding with caution as Harambee Stars prepare to take on two-time champions Morocco, who kicked off their campaign with a convincing 2-0 win over Angola at the Nyayo National Stadium.
McCarthy opened up about the mental strain that came with managing the game after the red card, noting how important it became to deploy players who could take on multiple roles—a tactical dilemma no coach wants to face.
“No coach wants to master playing with 10 players, because it is exhausting to watch. But your brain has to constantly work because you have to find a solution: which player can do that job, which player can do a striker’s job function and still defend,” Benni McCarthy revealed in the post-match press conference.
“So honestly, it’s the worst to be a coach when you go 10 men down. Because you feel the pain for your players, the 10 men who are on the field. You feel for them because of the work that they have to do and the effort they have to put in.”
For McCarthy, a key takeaway was the need to manage expectations, emphasizing that everyone in the Harambee Stars setup should recognize the level they’ve reached.
The former Manchester United assistant coach stressed that his players were now competing at the highest level of football and needed to carry themselves accordingly.
“You can’t still be like a rookie, like someone who’s never walked onto a football pitch before, someone who’s never seen so many people in the stadium. And that’s what my team is doing at the moment. And it’s becoming costly,” he added.
McCarthy also voiced frustration over the team’s slow starts, highlighting how, similar to the DR Congo match, they risk falling behind early if the trend continues.
He acknowledged that it’s unclear when the players would finally adapt and improve in that area, stating it’s now a concern for the entire technical bench to address.
Despite these concerns, McCarthy maintained that the squad has the talent and potential to compete—even when a player down.
“We didn’t make it easy for Angola. As much as they had such a big advantage with one player, moving the ball the way they did, we made it so difficult for them to get anywhere near our goals,” Benni McCarthy said.
“So these players can play, they are really good. But my God, they need to get over this fear factor for 45 minutes. It’s stressful, man.”