Harambee Starlets oozing with confidence as they leave for Ghana
Harambee Starlets head coach David Ouma heads to the third-round
Olympic Qualifiers clash against highly ranked Ghana with what could
be the youngest squad the team has ever fielded as Kenya looks to go
past the West Africans and move closer to their Olympics debut.
Two new players, attacking midfielder Eliabeth Katungwa and Gaspo
Youth’s full back Quinter Atieno, have made the cut in Ouma’s final
squad and are expected to fight for playing time against the players
who did duty against Malawi in the second-round competition.
The team is set to travel to Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday ahead of the
first leg match scheduled for Friday with the return match set to be
played four days later in Nairobi.
“I am impressed by the team developments so far and I have ensured I
have a squad of young quality players. Our stay in camp has majorly
concentrated on technical and tactical aspects of the game as the
players are physically fit and that gave us enough time to prepare for
the matches against Ghana,” he said.
He added: “We have also prepared mentally and strategically for the
back-to-back matches as we will have little time to recover after the
first leg before playing the home match. If we can hold them in Accra
and get an away goal it will be a big boost to our campaign.”
The tactician believes that they have an element of surprise that they
can unleash on their opponent with a relatively new squad. The two
sides last faced off in November last year in a build-up match for the
Africa Women’s Cup Of Nations (AWCON), the encounter ending in a one
all draw.
Four players in the current squad, captain Dorcas Sikobe, Corazone
Aquino, Mwanahalima Adam and keeper Annette Kundu were in the starting line-up when the two sides last met, while four others, Vivian Nasaka, Elizabeth Wambui, Sheryl Angachi and Ruth Ingosi started on the bench.
“Having these players injects some experience as they know what to
expect from Ghana. The new players yet to meet Ghana could be our
secret weapon. So far we have worked on their nerves and there will be
no issues of stage fright and that is an advantage for us,” added
Ouma.
