It's been 16 years since Harambee Stars won 3-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier and on Sunday, Stars put up a stellar performance with a convincing 3-0 win over Ethiopia in a 2019 Afcon Group "F" qualifier at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani.
John Baraza, Musa Otieno and Dennis Oliech scored a goal apiece as Jacob "Ghost" Mulee-coached Kenya thumped Togo 3-0 on September 7, 2002 at Kasarani in the 2004 Afcon qualifier.
It took over a decade for Michael Olunga, Eric Johanna and Victor Wanyama to score a goal each and replicate that result at a fully-packed Kasarani stadium, this time round under French coach Sebastien Migne.
Kenya are in pole position to qualify for Cameroon leading Group "F" on seven points and should Sierra Leone's ban fail to be lifted by world football governing body Fifa, they will already be making plans for Yaounde.
Migne's tactical acumen and courage to make tough decisions cannot go unnoticed.
After losing 2-1 to Sierra Leone in the opening match played last June under Stanley Okumbi, these qualifiers looked to be yet another futile campaign by Stars to return to the Afcon.
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However the 45-year-old Migne has within a month shocked many pundits with his squad selection that has contributed to the latest celebratory mood in the country.
Migne, who replaced Okumbi's successor Belgian Paul Put in May, used two friendly matches against Swaziland and Equatorial Guinea to monitor players' abilities and had an extra advantage during the Hero Intercontinental Cup in India in June.
On Sunday, Migne handed Patrick Matasi his third consecutive start in the Afcon qualifiers and the Tusker goalkeeper did not disappoint keeping a clean sheet - his third in as many qualifiers.
Under Migne, Matasi has finally emerged as Kenya One ahead of Gor Mahia's Boniface Oluoch who was in goal against Sierra Leone. Matasi, who was outstanding in the 2017 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup, made his debut in a qualifier against Ghana last month after Oluoch failed to report to camp.
Migne's decision to promote Matasi to first choice seems to have been arrived at after Oluoch failed to travel to India due to the Gor's commitment in the SportPesa Super Cup in Nakuru. Matasi has since kept four clean sheets in ten matches under Migne, three coming in the Afcon qualifiers.
In defence, he gambled with Musa Mohammed, who has come of age since moving to Zambia's Nkana in June, and displayed his leadership qualities in the 1-0 win over Ghana before taking up the armband in the last 19 minutes on Sunday after captain Victor Wanyama limped out with a suspected hamstring injury.
Musa has previously been an understudy to David "Calabar" Owino, Brian Mandela and David "Cheche" Ochieng', on numerous occasions being played out of position at right back.
"I am happy with another clean sheet," said Migne after the game. "It was my priority to work on defence when I came," he noted earlier.
Another big gamble was dropping speedy Ovella Ochieng' for left back Erick "Marcelo" Ouma who was handed an advanced role ahead of the more experienced Paul Were who on a normal day would've been handed a straight start in the absence of Ovella and suspended Ayub Timbe.
But Ouma, 22, combined well with Abud Omar to lock down Ethiopia's raid from the right flank. The two left backs were defensively superb and played a role in the build up to the second and third goals, a development Migne was pleased with after struggling to score goals in the first leg in Bahir Dar.
"At least we were able to develop the link up play and it was interesting offensively today," outlined Migne in his post-match interview.
Traditionally, French coaches are obsessed with local based talents lending credence to Migne's decision to under-utilize Belgium-based Johanna Omollo instead trusting Sofapaka's Dennis Odhiambo and Victor Wanyama in midfield.
Against Ghana, he benched Sweden-based Cheche for Gor Mahia's Joash Onyango and also kept faith in midfielder-turned-right back Philemon Otieno who has had a break-out campaign with K'Ogalo.
"The doors are open for everyone, it's not mandatory to play just because you are based in Europe, everyone must work for his place in the team," emphasized Migne on his team selection.
He further insisted that he would like to have more time with his players in camp for a formidable national team in the future.
Credit: Allafrica.com