Ouma: Starlets better placed to face Tanzania after Turkey tourney

Harambee Starlets’ David Ouma says his team is sharper and ready for Tanzania in the forthcoming African Women Nations Cup of Nations qualifier, after warming up for the clash using the just concluded Turkish Women’s Cup.

The head coach has noted the tournament offered a rare opportunity to test his players including the recent call-ups at a high level, timely for the AWCON qualifier.

“It was an opportunity to give our new called up players a feel of the big stage. As a coach it was all about orientation with the main concern being recovering quicker between the matches,” said Ouma.

Despite Starlets showing shortcomings in different departments, the coach picked several positives and noted areas to concentrate on before clashing with Twiga Stars.

“The challenge on the goalkeeping department was much more exposed because we missed the qualities of for example Annette Kundu. It is an area I will keenly address,” added coach Ouma.

In the tournament, Kenya beat won one and lost two matches, the final clash pitting them against African rivals Ghana who won 3-1.

Kenya and Ghana last met in last year’s Tokyo Olympic qualifiers where Kenya eliminated Ghana beating them 1-0 on aggregate in the third round.

The team now shifts focus to the Tanzania tie set for April, with the winner taking on either DR Congo or Sao Tome and Principe in the second and final qualifying round.