Starlets Ouma eyeing fine start against Ethiopia

 

Harambee Starlets head coach David Ouma is hopeful Mwanahalima ‘Dogo’ Adam and Janet Bundi will be fully fit ahead of their 2019 Cecafa women’s Senior Challenge opener, against Ethiopia slated for Sunday November 17 in Dar es Salaam.

The duo picked knocks during the second leg of the 2020 Olympic qualifier against Shepolopolo of Zambia, where Kenya lost 1-0 to bow out of the race four days ago.

Starlets who arrived in Nairobi from Lusaka on Tuesday night and jetted out to Tanzania on Wednesday for the tourney, have well settles in Dar with Ouma keen on starting strongly.

“We received a very warm reception in Dar and the team is in good condition. The spirit is high as exhibited in our so far two training sessions. It is all about shifting focus from the Olympics journey so that we concentrate for the Cecafa tournament which is different affair all together,” said Ouma.

“My only fear is for the two players, Mwanahalima and Bundi who picked knocks while in Zambia but the doctor has assessed their condition and given a good report that they can feature on Sunday. This competition is not like Olympic qualifiers where if you lost in aggregate you are knocked out. Here there is a chance of changing game plans in around three matches to get the best from the team, depending on results,” Ouma explained.

He wants to use the tournament to develop his young team that he says needs more time together.

“I can rate the team as elite cluster of players, and I will continue guiding them because I understand they are young. The likes of Cecelia from Kibera Girls, Jentrix Shikangwa and Sheryl Angachi are pure talents but require a lot of guidance to blossom to their full potential. We are lacking experience yes, but I’m happy for what they have done so far,” further told the tactician.

Ouma has singled out Uganda as the hard nut to crack in their group, which also has Ethiopia and Djibouti.

“On Sunday I’m optimistic we will defeat Ethiopia. We have met a couple of times and I can’t see anything to fear about in them. In our group B, I may say Uganda is a bit tough but we will try to beat them.”

Starlets finished fourth in the last Cecafa edition in Kigali, Rwanda compared to a better performance in the maiden edition in 2016 where they proceeded to the finals and lost 1-0 to Tanzania.

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kenya CECAFA Ethiopia Harambee Starlets David Ouma

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