National women under 20 soccer team Rising Starlets were thrashed by visiting Uganda in the first leg of World Cup under 20 Qualifiers. Uganda’s Crested Cranes registered an emphatic 7-2 victory against their opponents in a match played at the Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi on Saturday, 25th September.
Juliet Nalukenge’s and Sumaiya Komuntale’s brace and a goal each from Margret Kunihira, Fauzia Najjemba, and Shamirah Naluguya sealed the first half scores at 6-0. After the breather, Shaylene Opisa bagged the first goal for Kenya in the 61st minute. In the 79th minute, a wonderfully orchestrated build-up from Joy Kinglady in the mid area to Charity Midewa at the edge of the area, to Shaylene Opisa in the area, who then netted the second goal for Kenya. The final whistle however sealed the scores at 2-7.
"I'm glad the players stuck to the game plan of giving their all in the first half and getting as many goals as possible. However, when we go back to training, we will work on our endurance because that was our main challenge in the second half," said Ayub Khalif, Uganda's coach.
"It was definitely an interesting match to watch because of how experienced the opponents were but we now know that tightening our midfield and defence in training for the second leg will play a huge role in overturning the deficit in the next match. We had a lot of challenges assembling the team and starting training on time but now that we know what to expect from our opponents, we'll have just one or two days of rest and immediately get back into training. We still have a chance to redeem ourselves and we will use it wisely," said Charles Okere, Rising Starlets coach.
Kenya now have the uphill task of reducing the huge deficit of five goals in the second leg set for October 8 in Kampala, Uganda. The aggregate winner will face the winner of the second round tie between Mozambique and South Africa in the third round. Only two teams from Africa will qualify for the World Cup after the five qualifying rounds.