Starlets eye semis ticket in Djibouti clash

Kenya’s women football team, Harambee Starlets collide this afternoon with Djibouti  eyeing a semi final ticket  to this year’s edition of the ongoing Council of East and Central African Football Association (Cecafa) .

The match kicks off at 2pm  at Chamazi Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Starlets are currently at par with Uganda on 3 points but dwarfed by goal difference after Uganda hit 13 past Djibouti in their opener as compared to Kenya’s 2-0 win against Ethiopia.

Victory in this tournament will be a consolation to the David Ouma girls who were eliminated from the Olympic qualifiers by Zambia less than a fortnight ago.

Head coach, David Ouma, said that his side is highly motivated for today’s game following a 2-0 win in their opening match against Ethiopia on Sunday at the same venue.

Starlets got their goals from 17-year-old midfielder Jentrix Shikangwa and Cynthia Shilwatso, in the 79th and 82nd minutes respectively.

“Djibouti is an unfamiliar opponent for us because we have never played them but based on what we saw in their match against Uganda on Sunday, we have a good chance of doing well in the match. We are not complacent but we are well prepared to meet them. We hope to get to the final this year and to even capitalise on our energy and pace to win it,” said Ouma.

In last year’s championship Starlets lost 1-0 to the same opponents in Kigali, Rwanda with Kenya finishing fourth on a better goal aggregate after finishing on four points, same as fifth-placed Rwanda. Ethiopia finished third in the tournament won by Tanzania who beat Uganda in the final.

Kenya is placed in Group ‘B’ for the 10-day competition, with Uganda, Ethiopia and Djibouti while Group A has Tanzania, Burundi, Zanzibar and South Sudan.

This year’s competition is an improvement from last year’s edition that was attended by five countries only – defending champions Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

In other matches to be played on Tuesday, Uganda face Ethiopia from 4.30pm.

The top two teams from each group will proceed to the semi-finals. Group A winners will play runners-up from Group B, while Group B winners tackle runners-up from Group A.

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CECAFA Dar es Salaam Harambee Starlets Dibouti

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