Ouma dares Starlets to dream bigger despite AWCON upset

Harambee Starlets Head Coach David Ouma has assured the national team’s ambitions to reach greater heights will not be wrecked by their forgettable debut at the ongoing Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON).

The Starlets enjoyed a fairy-tale qualification phase to the biennial tournament with impressive performances against top African sides before similarly convincing displays in a series of friendly matches against European opponents during the COTIF tournament in Spain.

However, crushing defeats to Ghana, Mali and Nigeria have taken the shine off their spectacular run with Ouma conceding he felt their opponents were a class beyond them although they could easily be caught.

“The teams that qualified for the semis have participated in this competition over the past 11 editions and for sure when you compare our players against their West African opponents you realize the Starlets stood up to the occasion. We have to keep on working very hard to ensure that we can compete better as a nation,” Ouma told Citizen Digital.

The former Sofapaka FC tactician added some of the Kenyan players attracted potential moves abroad with a few scouts showing interest on his key players.

“Despite not winning a single match some of these players were just exceptional and it’s no surprise they have attracted such interest. They’ve shown their capability so it shows we’re doing something right; hopefully we can improve as a team.

“It would be a great opportunity to have our players going pro with top clubs in the top five leagues in the world. They will bring a whole new experience to our squad and this way I’m in a good position to have a stronger team in future,” Ouma stated.

He added that despite the absence of key players including hot-shot Neddy Atieno, the Starlets’ setbacks resulted from their glaring weaknesses in defending set-pieces.

“Atieno is the impact player; she has played consistently with the team, understands the tactical orientation of the team and her creativity was deeply missed. In Cameroon what we realized is they have great motivation. Their football stadiums easily filled up and the support was just inspirational; they dream football, they eat and sleep football.

Starlets’ skipper Ann Aluoch echoed her coach’s views saying the chance to play alongside top countries in the continent has boosted their confidence levels and backed her side to bounce back stronger.

“It all felt like a completely different stage and to get to see a player like Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala was a great experience for us. It was only the first ever tournament and moving forward maybe we should have more friendly matches or joint training sessions with these big teams.”

Nigeria’s Super Falcons – who hammered Starlets 4-0 in their last group match – booked a finals date with hosts Cameroon after beating South Africa’s Banyana Banyana 1-0 on Tuesday.