Awcon qualifiers: Harambee Starlets hammer South Sudan to advance

Harambee Starlets hammered South Sudan 7-1 in the second leg of their Africa Women's Cup of Nations first round, second leg qualifiers to advance to the second round on a 15-1 aggregate.

Skipper Mwanahalima Adam and substitute Jentrix Shikangwa struck twice each while Janet Moraa, Neddy Atieno and Lydia Akoth were also on target as Kenya dispatched South Sudan in the lop-sided tie.

South Sudan got their consolation goal through their Kenyan-educated forward Amy Lasu.

Kenya will now face the winners of the tie between Uganda and Ethiopia in the second round of the qualifiers scheduled for February 2022 while South Sudan have been eliminated from the competition.

"We started off a bit slower because we changed the team from the one that played in the first leg and that's why you saw them keeping up with our strategy of playing behind the ball. However, we knew that the second half was crucial and that is when we unleashed our best and the results couldn't be better," said Charles Okere, Harambee Starlets coach.

"We have a plan of keeping the players active in the upcoming WPL and also using friendly matches so that they can be ready for the next round."

"This is just our building phase and we are glad we got to play Kenya while they are still at their best. We will go back and see other opponents we can compete with and better our level of competition as well. Otherwise, I am proud of the players and we hope to have a stronger team in future," said Shilene Booysen, Bright Starlets coach.

Adam opened the floodgates on 35 minutes from a penalty awarded after a handball inside the box.

Adam then made it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time after receiving the ball inside the area, turning her marker before unleashing a low shot to the far corner.

The Kenyans were not in their stride like was the case in the first leg, but the half-time break gave the coaches time to tweak their side.

Before Adam's opening two goals at Nyayo, Kenya had struggled to break down the Bright Starlets who were better defensively that on Wednesday when they soaked in four goals before the break.

Kenya missed several chances with goalkeeper Nawal Majok denying Corazone Adhiambo from a freekick on 21 minutes while Tereza Engesha and Martha Amunyolete also went close.

Neddy Atieno, scorer of four goals in the first leg, was kept quiet for large spells by the South Sudanese girls, but could have opened the scoring on 32 minutes but shoot over the bar after receiving a pass from Rachael Muema.

Bundi made it 3-0 after the restart after the goalkeeper failed to deal with Adam's shot on 55 minutes.

Amunyolete and Engesha made way for Shikangwa and Lorna Nyabuto, and the duo combined for Starlets fifth goal.

Nyabuto found space in midfield before releasing Shikangwa who made no mistake from close range.

Shikangwa then secured her brace and the fifth goal for Kenya on 73 minutes, with a ferocious shot that the goalkeeper failed to deal with.

South Sudan then scored a rare goal against Kenya. Lasu struck a brilliant free-kick into to top corner much to the joy of the South Sudanese.

Bright Starlets' joy was however short-lived as Lydia Akoth strolled into the area before slotting home Kenya's sixth goal on 89 minutes. Atieno then completed the rout in added time with a thunderbolt from outside the are to cap a brilliant afternoon for the Kenyans.