Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy pulled no punches at a lively press conference following his team’s 1-0 loss to Guinea on Thursday, 1 October, expressing pride in the Kenyan team, but utter contempt for match referee Mohamed Maarouf of Egypt.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsSometimes smiling at the press in front of him, McCarthy had mixed reviews for Harambee Stars, who in Conakry fell to a solitary first-half goal from Serhou Guirassy, to leave them winless in Group D of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers.##NAJAVA_MECA_10000349##“If we had some experience like Guinea had, I think maybe it would have been a different situation,” the former Bafana Bafana striker said post-game. “We created some nervy moments for them [Guinea], but unfortunately lacked a bit of experience in the final third.”That said, however, McCarthy had positive reviews of his squad, who despite being 28 places below Syli National in the FIFA rankings, stayed within touching distance throughout the entire 90 minutes.PLAYER RATINGS: How Harambee Stars players fared in narrow defeat to Guinea“I am very proud of the players, and the fight they put in,” McCarthy said. “People expected us to lose by three, four or five goals, but I think Guinea today was very fortunate that we didn't make use of the opportunities we created.”As per Flashscore, who had a 49 per cent possession, had a total five shots on goal, compared with nine for hosts Guinea.Kenyan coach explains reason behind worrying 2026-2027 start in TanzaniaDespite running them close, McCarthy still took umbrage at centre referee Maarouf, for failing to whistle a foul on Guinea midfielder Abdoul Karim Traoré, in the build-up to the decisive goal.From the replays, Traore seemed to trip Kenyan midfielder Chrispine Erambo inside the box, an incident that left Guirassy unmarked to fire in at the backpost.Why Muluya is confident Sharks will retain FKFPL status despite defeat in Mombasa“If you watched the game, I don't think the referee had one of his best matches today, because it was very one-sided,” McCarthy said. “Especially for the goal, he [referee] was looking at the foul, but he just completely ignored it, and allowed the goal to stand.“If there was VAR, or in South Africa, Morocco, or Egypt, the goal would have been disallowed. At a higher level, the goal would have been disallowed because of the incompetence of the referee, and he was very arrogant.”##NAJAVA_MECA_10000338##