BY MAGOMA GICHANA
Harambee Starlets head coach David Ouma has been impressed with the way the team is progressing after they booked a date with Real Betis in the ongoing COTIF Women Football Tournament in Valencia, Spain.
Starlets defeated RDC Espanyol 3-1 in the last group match on Tuesday 2 August and will play against Real Betis in the semifinals on Wednesday 3 August as they seek for their maiden title.
“I salute my players for what they have done so far. They have worked stronger on wide areas especially the defenders being able to contain the speedy attackers and I can say that early preparations has contributed to the good result because I can see the growth in the team, the players have improved tactically and I hope to keep on the winning mentality to our semifinal match against Betis.
“I’ll try to improve our slow start in our game tonight as has been the case in previous matches psychologically. This is a very important match for us and we can’t just let it go,” he said.
Commenting on Esse Akida’s sparkling performance after she scored five goals from two matches, Ouma said he is happy with her performance.
“I’m very happy she (Akida) is working hard in the wide areas and equally scoring which is her job and also special attention that needs score maiden goal which was very important in that really tense game though recovery level 80 that shows determination of the players. Currently I acknowledge team effort to endure this level as we’ve had some nervous moment to complete at this level,” he said.
Ouma has also thanked the federation for the good preparation saying it will go ahead to help the players gauge themselves ahead of the Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) finals set for 19 November to 3 August in Cameroon.
