WPL: Nekesa scores four times as Soccer Assassins debut with a win

Soccer Assassins Sunday made their Football Kenya Federation Women Premier League (FKF-WPL) bow with a 5-0 win over Trans Nzoia Falcons at Ndura Stadium in Kitale on Sunday.

Rising Starlets striker Valarie Nekesa scored four goals in the fifth, 77th, 80th and 90th minutes. Captain Jane Hato was also on the scoresheet with a goal in the 53rd minute.

Nekesa and Hato featured for Rising Starlets in the two-leg 2024 Fifa Women's World Cup qualifier against Angola early this month which Kenya won 10-1 on aggregate with Nekesa scoring four goals.

Soccer Assassins were promoted to the top flight league from Division One League alongside Kibera Soccer Ladies and Bungoma Queens.

Nekesa now leads the WPL top scorers' charts with four goals, followed by Puren Alukwe from Kenya Police Bullets and Susan Nyumba from Zetech Sparks with three goals each.

It was Trans Nzoia Falcons' third loss of the season after suffering a 4-1 defeat to Zetech Sparks and a 4-0 loss to Bunyore Starlets in their last two matches.

In another match, Zetech Sparks secured their first home win this season against Bunyore Starlets, winning 4-0 at Imani Grounds in Ruiru, Kiambu county.

Internationals Anna Arusi and Rebecca Kwoba, who also featured for Rising Starlets, made a triumphant comeback with Arusi netting a hat-trick, with Kwoba also on target.

Kibera Soccer Ladies also earned their first win of the season by defeating Wadadia 2-1 at Mumias Sports Complex in Mumias.

Wadadia took the lead in the 18th minute through Laura Atsabina, but Kibera's Mary Ambila and Joyce Okuku scored a goal each in the 40th and 67th minutes respectively.

Elsewhere, 10-women Ulinzi Starlets gunned down Nakuru City Queens 5-0 at ASK Grounds in Nakuru. Strikers Neddy Atieno and Lucy Nato each scored a brace, while Rita Ojwang sealed the fifth goal in the 90th minute.

In another match, Emily Okute's goal in the 47th minute was enough to give Gaspo Women their first win of the season at Stima Sports Club Grounds in Nairobi.

Gaspo coach James Ombeng' admitted that despite the victory, his team made numerous mistakes.

"Our opponents had ample opportunities to score, but they failed to capitalize on them. On the other hand, we got a chance and punished them. However, there were moments when we lost focus on the field, and this is an area we will be addressing during our training this week," stated Ombeng'.

Bungoma coach Robert Machio expressed his disappointment after the narrow loss and said they need to sign experienced players to bolster the squad.

"It was a bad day in the office as the team did not achieve the expected results. We missed a lot of scoring opportunities and our plan is to sign two or three experienced players to instill confidence in the rest of the team, as many players suffer from stage fright," said Machio.

Weekend Results

Zetech Sparks FC 4-0 Bunyore Starlets FC

Wadadia FC 1-2 Kibera Soccer Ladies

Gaspo Women FC 1-0 Bungoma Queens FC

Trans Nzoia Falcons FC 5-0 Soccer Assassins FC

Nakuru City Queens FC 0-5  Ulinzi Starlets FC