Eight-star Starlets put one foot into WAFCON second qualification round
The returning Neddy Atieno scored five goals as Kenya’s national women’s football team Harambee Starlets ran riot against South Sudan, hitting the Bright Starlets 8-0 in the first leg of their 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers in Nairobi on Wednesday.
Atieno was making a return to the national team for the first time since 2018 and did so in style, striking a brace within the opening three minutes of the game as the Kenyan girls put one foot into the second qualification round.
Atieno needed just 61 seconds to give Kenya the lead when she ran into the box to meet a Jentrix Shikangwa cross from the right, tapping home for the opener.
She made it 2-0 in the third minute with an overhead kick, battling a forest of defenders to kick in Janet Bundi’s cross.
The Kenyan girls dominated the game further and stretched their lead to 3-0 in the 34th minute, Atieno completing a hattrick with a simple header inside the box off a Sheryl Angachi cross from the left.
Five minutes later, the game was firmly in Kenya’s grasp when Shikangwa scored the fourth with another neat finish inside the box.
In the second half, the hosts continued their dominance and made it 5-0, Shikangwa completing her brace of assists by laying the ball low to Atieno who made no mistake with a well weighted shot into the bottom left to score her fourth of the day.
The Kenya Defense Forces officer then made it 6-0 in the 61st minute with a filthy finish, picking a well weighted ball from midfield spread out by Corazone Aquino before sneaking it low beyond the keeper.
Captain of the day Mwanahalima Adam then made it 7-0 just four minutes later, a solo effort seeing her drive into the box before hitting the roof of the net.
In the 72nd minute, Shikangwa completed her brace with another neat finish inside the box, this time Atieno feeding her with a defense splitting pass inside the box.
Starlets will now look to complete the job in the second leg on Saturday with the winner of the tie set to face off with neighbors Uganda in the second round. The Uganda Crested Cranes lead Ethiopia’s Lucy 2-0 from the first leg also played today.