Ghana’s heaviest soccer defeat? Bulgaria 10 Ghana 0 in October 1968.
Ghana’s biggest ever win? Kenya 2 Ghana 13 in December 1965. Kofi Pare scored 6 goals. 4 for Osei Kofi , a brace from Frank Odoi and a goal from Jones Attoquayefieyo.
Ghana play Kenya this weekend in a 2019 AFCON qualifier.
Kenyan writer Roy Gauchi interviewed a member of the Kenya team that played against the Black Stars in this historic match and wrote this report in 2012 as reproduced below.
In sporting terms, last week’s Jamhuri Day celebrations were spectacularly different from those of 1965 when Kenya was a one year old republic. At that time, the sort of record that revisionists could gladly erase from the books given quarter of a chance was set.
Ghana hammered Kenya 13-2. It was a celebration gone awfully wrong but thankfully, it has never happened again although on November 14, 1978 the country came benumbingly near to a similar catastrophe.
Kenya, the new, proud and ambitious republic, had invited the Black Stars to play its national team two friendly matches to mark its first Jamhuri Day.
At that time, the Black Stars were the reigning African champions – a pointer to the optimism and ambition of the newly independent country.
The match took place at the Jamhuri Park Stadium on the afternoon of Saturday December 11.
It was graced by President Jomo Kenyatta. The Kenya team was: Joseph Were, Tom Sabuni, Jonathan Niva, Anthony Mukabwa, Moses Wabwai, Joseph Okeyo, John Rabuongi, Nicodemus Arudhi, William Chege Ouma, James Asibwa and Moses Ambani.
Problems ensnared this match before the first ball was kicked. The coach at that time was Peter Oronge, a former Kenya international of great ability. The team assembled at Nairobi Railway Club for briefing but Oronge was nowhere to be found.
That was long, long before the advent of the mobile phone but maybe even if the technology was available, he probably would still have been, as Kenyans are wont to say, mteja. Oronge never explained his disappearing act.
Ray Batchelor was the Rift Valley Provincial Sports Officer at the time. He was also coach of Nakuru All Stars FC, who would become the Kenya Football League champions in 1969.
The FA of Kenya got hold of him as a case of emergency. Batchelor managed to be with team for all of four hours before kick-off.
Today, James Sianga, the father of Kenyan goalkeeping and for 15 years since independence the first choice for the country, remembers that episode of 47 years ago as if it was yesterday.
“I didn’t start. Joseph Were did. I can tell you for a fact that we were no match for the Ghanaians. They had not broken camp since winning the Nations Cup and as such were totally cohesive. In contrast, our team had hardly been together before the game. They were simply too fast, too strong and too good for us in all aspects.” Sianga said.
