Rising Starlets make light work of Angola in World Cup qualifier
Kenya's Valarie Nekesa celebrates after scoring during their Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup second round first leg qualifier against Angola at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Sunday.
What you need to know:
- The victory has given Kenya, who got a bye in the first round, a significant advantage going into the second leg of the second round qualifiers set for Saturday
- Rising Starlets coach Beldine Odemba said the girls can improve on their display in the return leg despite the huge win at home
- Fan favorite Nekesa helped herself to a hat-trick after scoring in the third, sixth, and 21st minutes
Kenya's Rising Starlets have made a flying start to their Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup qualifying campaign after thrashing Angola 6-1 in the first leg of the second round at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Sunday.
The victory has given Kenya, who got a bye in the first round, a significant advantage going into the second leg of the second round qualifiers set for Saturday.
The outcome of this two-leg tie will determine the aggregate winner, who will then take on either Cameroon or Botswana in the third round.
Cameroon defeated Botswana 2-0 in the first leg played in Douala on Saturday and will look to complete the job next Sunday in Gaborone.
Rising Starlets coach Beldine Odemba said the girls can improve on their display in the return leg despite the huge win at home.
"It's good that the girls scored more goals and when we go to Angola, we shall play better than we did at home. We now want to work on what did not go well. We could have scored more goals at home but we lost a lot of chances. Our target now is to go and score more goals," said Odemba.
Her Angola counterpart Sandra Dias expressed her disappointment after the team's loss, attributing it to fatigue.
"We did not perform according to our plan . The objective was to secure maximum points in the away game, but we faced a strong opponent. My players were not in good physical condition, which was evident throughout the entire match. We now shift our focus to the second leg at home on Saturday," said Dias.
The junior Starlets dominated the first leg from start to finish with the attacking trio of Valarie Nekesa, Charity Midewa and Rebecca Kwoba a constant threat for the Angolans.
Fan favorite Nekesa helped herself to a hat-trick after scoring in the third, sixth, and 21st minutes. Midewa claimed a brace while Faith Naliaka completed the rout with a goal in the 80th minute.
Angola managed to score a consolation goal in the 23rd minute through Inone Julio. This was their only opportunity for Angola after making an early substitution in the 13th minute, when captain Carla Clemente was replaced by Domingas Mutolo.
