Harambee Starlets bank on experience against South Sudan
Harambee Starlets players are taken through their paces during their training session at Nyayo National Stadium on October 19, 2021 on the eve of their Africa Women Cup of Nations qualifier against South Sudan.
What you need to know:
- The women's national team tactician Charles Okere said it was important to boost the team with a good number of experienced players who have played at international level
- Bright Starlets head coach Shilene Booysen, a former Banyana Banyana goalkeeper and analyst, told Nation Sport that playing against Kenya presents a chance to expose the young team to continental competitions
- South Sudan will have an uphill task of defeating Okere's charges who have never been beaten on home soil and have experience from 2016 and 2018 Awcon qualifiers
Harambee Starlets will be banking on their experienced players to increase their chances of beating South Sudan in their first leg of the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations (Awcon) qualifiers, to be staged at the Nyayo National Stadium on Wednesday, 4pm.
The women's national team tactician Charles Okere said it was important to boost the team with a good number of experienced players who have played at international level.
"Being in the national team means you always have to fight for your chance to be relevant throughout, and majority of the players have proven that they can put up a good fight when it's crunch time and that's why they made the call up list.
"With their experience in competitions like the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers and even the previous Awcon contests, these players have been able to guide their younger counterparts in the training and I'm confident that they will do the same during the game," Okere said during their final training session at the Nyayo stadium on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Bright Starlets head coach Shilene Booysen, a former Banyana Banyana goalkeeper and analyst, told Nation Sport that playing against Kenya presents a chance to expose the young team to continental competitions.
"Kenya is one of the teams that we have been hoping to meet for a while now because we know their history and we watched them keenly during the 2019 Cecafa and we recognise their strength in the game. But football is football and the outcome can never be determined so we trust that we will give our best on game day," she said.
South Sudan captain Amy Lasu during their training session at Nyayo National Stadium on October 19, 2021 on the eve of their Africa Women Cup of Nations qualifier against Kenya.
Some of the familiar faces at Harambee Starlets who are expected to trouble Bright Starlets include Neddy Atieno who recently guided Ulinzi Starlets to clinch the inaugural FKF Women's Cup title and also was part of the squad that played in the 2018 Awcon qualifiers where Kenya lost to Equatorial Guinea in preliminary matches.
Kenya will also depend on goalkeeper Annedy Kundu, who spent two years at Cyprus Division One side AEL Champions and was awarded the Golden Glove award in 2019 during the Cecafa Senior Women's Challenge Cup where Kenya beat Tanzania 2-0 in the final. Kundu did not concede throughout the tournament.
Other key players are Vihiga Queens forward Teresa Engesha, who last played for the national team in 2017, Corazone Odhiambo, Mwanahalima Adam.
South Sudan will have an uphill task of defeating Okere's charges who have never been beaten on home soil and have experience from 2016 and 2018 Awcon qualifiers.
The aggregate winner will meet winners of the tie between Mozambique and South Africa in the second round.
