Former Gor Mahia coach Johnathan McKinstry belives Benni McCarthy is exactly the right man for Harambee Stars despite losing 3-1 to his Gambia outfit last Friday.

Gambia head coach Johnathan McKinstry has explained why he believes Benni McCarthy is exactly the right manager to steer Kenya’s Harambee Stars to new heights despite their 3-1 loss at the hands of the Scorpions at Kasarani Stadium on Friday.

Kenya started the brighter of the two sides, creating danger through William Lenkupae and Rooney Onyango inside the opening ten minutes. But McKinstry’s side absorbed the early pressure before striking clinically. 

Sheriff Shinyan headed in a Yankuba Minteh corner to silence the home crowd, and moments later Minteh doubled the advantage on the counter after a Kenyan turnover. 

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The Brighton winger then turned provider for Musa Barrow, who punished a defensive slip to make it 3-0 before halftime.

Benni McCarthy responded with wholesale changes at the break, bringing on Alpha Onyango and Manzur Okwaro to inject energy, later introducing Ryan Ogam in search of inspiration.

 The substitutes did spark life, with Duke Abuya and Ogam both finding the net, only for their efforts to be ruled offside. Persistence paid off late when Ogam pulled one back in the 81st minute, but it proved only a consolation as Gambia left Nairobi with maximum points.

Speaking to the media after the match, McKinstry, who left Gor Mahia in 2024 after leading them to two FKF Premier League titles, was responding to a question by a journalist on whether he saw himself coming back as Stars coach, and he gave the former Man United assistant his flowers.

Speaking after the game, McKinstry dismissed suggestions that he could return to Kenya’s dugout. Instead, he made clear his support for McCarthy:

“I think Benni McCarthy is exactly the right coach for the team right now,” McKinstry said. “Without going over old ground, if you look back at some of my earlier interviews when I was working here, I was a little outspoken about certain things. I don’t need to revisit those thoughts about previous eras.”

McKinstry underlined why patience was vital with the South African tactician:

“You’ve got the right coach here — get behind him. He’s hugely experienced. Yes, it’s been eight or nine months, but in real terms that’s probably only 20 or 30 training sessions. That’s still no time at all.”

“The progress the team is making shows they can go a long way. My suggestion is to stick with the current coach for the long term.”

Former Gor Mahia coach and current Gambia manager Johnathan McKinstry has a word with #HarambeeStars coach Benni McCarthy before both teams take each other on at Kasarani Stadium at the ongoing #FIFAWC2026 qualifiers.#FootballKE pic.twitter.com/SxEjIhmdxD

On his part, McCarthy admitted the gulf in quality had cost Kenya, but argued his side would have fared worse without the Europe-based core he introduced.

“World Cup qualifiers… are two different worlds,” he told reporters.

 “You saw how difficult it was against Gambia. Had we only used CHAN players, the scoreline could have been embarrassing. We need to balance the squad, bring experience, and give these boys a platform to grow.”

The coach was quick to praise the effort of his players despite the result: