Even though the Harambee Starlets defeated champion team Uganda 4-0 during the current CECAFA Women’s Tournament in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, their assistant coach Godfrey ‘Solo’ Oduor believes they lack sufficient depth in their squad.
Diana Wacera, Dorcas Shikobe, and Violet Nanjala found the back of the net during the first half, followed by Martha Amunyolet adding another goal near the end of the second half at the Azam Sports Complex. This led Kenya to dominate against the reigning champions.
Speaking during the post-match press conference, Solo, who replaced Jackline Juma last week as Beldine Odemba’s assistant, confirmed they have only 19 players, who rest for just a day before playing another match, and they ensure everyone gets playtime.
“We currently have just 19 players, which indicates a lack of depth. Several players who participated in the match against Burundi on Sunday played the full 90 minutes yesterday, so we will need to make rotations for our upcoming game against South Sudan on Thursday,” explained Solo.
Experienced midfielder Corazone Aquino and winger Elizabeth Wambui, who were part of the team that fell 5-1 to Morocco in a friendly on June 4, missed the Dar es Salaam trip after failing to show up before departure. They were not replaced, leading to the lean squad.
Solo, however, praised the girls for their performance after grabbing their second straight win at the tournament following a 3-0 win over Burundi on Sunday, June 15.
“The Ugandans played well, but we overcame them through teamwork. I would also like to congratulate our goalkeeper, Lilian Awuor, for ensuring we kept a second clean sheet. She made a great save at nil-nil and was instrumental in the victory,” added the former Kibera Black Stars tactician.
Uganda’s coach, Sherly Botes, acknowledged that Kenya had more experience, leading to their dominance in midfield and superiority in physicality and technical skills. She expressed confidence that her team would perform improved when facing the host nation, Tanzania, scheduled for Thursday, June 19.
“Against South Sudan, we played 4-4-2, but we changed to 3-5-1 to counter Kenya. But they were way better in transition and link play. Kenya may have brought some youngsters, but their experienced stars used their pace to overpower our defence,” said the South African gaffer.
Kenya is tied at six points with hosts Tanzania on top of the table, but with an inferior goal difference. Odemba’s girls will face South Sudan tomorrow before battling Tanzania in a potential title decider on Saturday, 21 June, in the round-robin format.
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