Cecafa: Coach Ouma demands ruthlessness from Starlets

Kenya Harambee Starlets' Coach David Ouma instruct players during their first leg of Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifier match against Zambia at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on Friday, Nov 8, 2019. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Harambee Starlets coach David Ouma has called on her troops to be more ruthless in front of goal if they want to lift the ongoing 2019 Cecafa Women’s Championship title at Chamazi Stadium, Dar as Salaam, Tanzania.

Though the 2016 losing finalists made a perfect start to the tournament by seeing off Ethiopia 2-0 on Sunday, they had to wait until the second half for substitute Gentrix Shikangwa and Cynthia Shilwatso to break their Group B opponents’ resistance.

And as the Starlets take on Djibouti, who suffered a 13-0 humiliation at the hands of Uganda’s Crested Cranes, at 2pm today, Ouma said his side need to build on the understanding they showed on Sunday and score more goals against the debutants.

“We had four clear cut chances in the first half against Ethiopia, but failed to convert them. However, I think as a team we are continuing to learn game after game. This is a team building process and we have to continue keeping the belief in our strikers,” said Ouma.

“It wasn’t an easy game because Ethiopia really tried to minimise the playing spaces. We had to change our game plan in the second half by unlocking their compactness. We just need to be more ruthless upfront.”

Ouma added: “We really need to improve on our set-piece execution in our next matches. Set pieces have become critical moments in modern football and we have to make good use of them.”

Despite the day one victory, Ouma believes there is still room for improvement from his youthful side.

“We hope to work on our organisation and attack before our next matches against Djibouti and Uganda,” he said.

“We still have a long journey and we have many things to improve on as a team. But we are thankful for the three points we got against Ethiopia.” [Rodgers Eshitemi]