Kenya’s Starlets reach third round of Olympic Games qualifiers

Kenya’s Harambee Starlets reached the third round of the 2020 Olympic Games women’s qualifiers with a 5-3 aggregate after overturning a 3-2 first-leg defeat to thrash Malawi 3-0 in Machakos, Kenya, for a 5-3 aggregate victory on Sunday.

Mwanahalima Adam struck a late second-half brace to add to Cynthia Shilwatso’s opening goal as the Kenyans kept alive their dream of a maiden Olympic appearance.

“I am thrilled with the result today. We told ourselves that we had a chance to win and we gave it our all,” said Adam.

Kenya’s Coach David Ouma was equally elated.

“We showed hunger and fought from the first minute. We were a bit jittery at the start of the second-half but we managed to hold on. This shows our new team is growing and headed in the right direction.”

Malawi head coach Abel Mkandawire admitted his team did not turn up against a spirited Kenya.

“They wanted it more than us and they were more disciplined in defence and attack. Things did not work out for us and we could not respond under pressure.”

Skipper Tabitha Chawinga said: “Kenya deserved to go through because they played well. We didn’t ever look at our best.”

Weekend results (first-leg scores in brackets):
Nairobi Kenya 3 Malawi 0 (2-3)
Harare Zimbabwe vs Zambia (0-5)
(Zambia qualify after Zimbabwe failed to show up for the second-leg)

Tuesday’s fixtures:
Bamako:
Mali vs Cote d’Ivoire (0-3)
Lagos:
Nigeria vs Algeria (2-0)
Yaounde:
Cameroon vs Ethiopia (1-1)
Accra:
Ghana vs Gabon (3-0)
Johannesburg:
South Africa vs Botswana (0-0)

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo