Harambee Stars were eliminated from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after going down 1-0 to the Sparrow Hawks of Togo in a fast paced match played on Sunday.
Serge Gakpe’s blistering 30 yard screamer beat Stars keeper Arnold Origi all the way to give Togo the lead in the 59th minute sending the stadium into delirium.
The win saw the West African advance at the expense of Stars on the away goals rule as Kenya had own the first leg 2-1.
Stars went into the game with an advantage needing only a draw after beating Togo 2-1 in Nairobi but failed to leave up to the fans expectations as they succumbed to a loss that puts coach Kimanzi's job in jeopardy.
Togo had the upper hand in the game as they punched holes in the Stars’ defence but keeper Arnold Origi put up a sterling performance thwarting many of the attacks.
After the goal went Stars coach Francis Kimanzi rung in the changes bringing on Patrick Osiako for Dennis Nzomo, Paul Were for Patrick Oboya and Jamal Mohammed for Kevin Kimani but his move failed to bear fruit with the Togo defense holding forte.
To add salt to injury, Kimanzi was sent to the stands by the referee.
It is the team’s second straight defeat after losing to Namibia by a solitary goal and drawing 0-0 with Malawi at home in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
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