Nairobi — Travelling west for Harambee Stars on international duty has never been a dull undertaking.

In recent years the ordeals and misadventures that have surrounded the Kenyans as they head to the football crazy West African region have added undue anxiety to what should have been just a football match between nations.

Kenya are scheduled to play Guinea Bissau on Saturday in Bissau in a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

But even before the team had flown out, news broke from the team camp at Karen on Wednesday that star striker Dennis Oliech had gone absent without official leave and management was contemplating dropping him for the trip altogether.

Coach Twahir Muhiddin however included him the 18-man travel party.

Threw a tantrum

The planned trip did not however take place as scheduled because the connecting flight from Dakar to Bissau had not been confirmed.

Frantic efforts by the government secured a flight early Friday morning and Stars are now expected in Bissau at 4pm local time.

In June 2005, Oliech threw a tantrum at JKIA, refusing to board the plane with his mates over unpaid allowances and air ticket fare refunds. Stars were on their way to Conakry for a World Cup/Nations Cup tie against Guinea.

Kenya's trip to West Africa in June 2003 for build-up matches for a Nations Cup qualifier against Togo away turned out to be more like a two-week 'Survivor Series' exercise.

After playing Mauritania to a 0-0 draw, the Stars were nearly marooned following a coup d'etat in that country, just managing to scrape through to Accra before the airspace was closed.

It got worse in Ghana, their next stop, when the federation failed to bail them out after the visitors ran out of money and a Kenyan living in Accra agreed to guarantee their hotel bills, before they were allowed to depart.

Needless to say, Kenya lost both qualifiers and part of their dignity.

Put up a brave face

On Thursday though, the team put up a brave face ahead of Bissau.

"The squad we have is good and we are really hungry to qualify for the Nations Cup finals," striker Allan Wanga said.

"We have done well in our past two friendly matches and, as long as we avoid conceding a goal, we will win."

Wanga, who netted a brace in Kenyan's recent 3-0 victory against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, added: "I know we can put the ball in the net and I am hoping that I will keep scoring for the national team."

Wanga must have been thinking back to the last round of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup/Africa Cup of Nations last year when the poor travellers failed to score a goal away, going down to Nigeria (3-0), Namibia (1-0) and Mozambique (1-0).

Goalkeeper Arnold Origi, who missed a good part of the previous qualifiers with injury, declared his fitness and said if the team maintained their focus getting a result in Bissau was not beyond them.