High-scoring Starlets one round away from AWCON
By Gibo.Zachary, October 25, 2021Kenya national women’s football team, Harambee Starlets, are now just one round away from making a comeback to the continental football competition after a comprehensive drubbing of South Sudan in the first round.
After failing to qualify for the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) Qualifiers, having featured in the competition for the first time in 2016, Starlets showed hunger and determination to return to the continental showpiece after thrashing hapless South Sudan 15-1 on aggregate to advance to the second and final round of the qualifiers.
In the first leg played on Wednesday last week, Starlets hammered the South Sudanese Bright Starlets side 8-0 with Neddy Atieno scoring five goals, while in the return leg played on Saturday at Moi International Sports Center (MISC) Kasarani, Starlets emphatically and impressively completed the job by beating them 7-1.
Captain fantastic Mwanahalima Dogo and live wire and super-sub Jentrix Shikangwa both scored a brace with Janet Bundi, Lydia Akoth, and Neddy Atieno each found the target once for the victory.
Starlets were up two goals in the first half courtesy of Dogo’s mastered brace as Bright Starlets tried all they could to contain marauding Kenyan Girls in the opening 45 minutes but in the second half, the Charles Okere coached side upped their tempo and aggressiveness to score five more goals with Bright Starlets fighting hard to get a consolation in the dying minutes of the game.
Bright Starlets started the match strongly in the opening 50 seconds, threatening to score first but Harambee Starlets quickly regrouped to take charge of the proceedings with a flurry of attacks, and their troubles were finally rewarded in the 36th minute through a penalty after a South Sudan player adjudged for a handball inside the box. Dogo, who was the day’s team captain, stopped up to convert the spot-kick.
Beautiful strike
South Sudan kept the belief, showing a glimpse of a much-improved side with a likelihood of controlling the damage and at least getting a goal, but it was Dogo who found the back of the net again in the 44th minute with a beautiful strike from inside the box on the right-wing to give the Kenyan girls a 2-0 halftime lead.
Right after the break, coach Okere made a double substitution bringing inShikangwa and Lorna Nyabuto for Martha Amunyolet and Tereza Engesha respectively, and the substitution sparked Starlets to life with Janet Moraa Bundi opening the second half floodgates with Starlets’ third goal in the 48 minutes.
Shikangwa then grabbed a brace in the 65th and 73rd minutes, before Lydia Akoth added a sixth goal in the 88th minute, then Neddy Atieno wrapped up the show n the 90th minute as South Sudan managed to pull one back .