Harambee Starlets: Poor preparations to blame for loss

By REBECCA GICHANA

Rwanda team celebrate qualifying to the Africa Women Championship. They edged Kenya out on away goal rule

Harambee Starlets captain Martha Karimi has blamed poor preparations for their botched bid to qualify for the second round of the African Women Championship.

Despite winning 2-1 in the return leg played over the weekend at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos, it was not  enough for the home girls to sail through to the next round.

She-Amavumbi qualified on away goal basis after the teams settled a for a 2-2 goal aggregate.

“We need support like our male colleagues to play well when it comes to international matches. We prepared for few days thus the poor results. The girls did their best during the two matches conceding two goals in the championship. This shows how the team is dedicated despite the challenges,” said Karimi.

“Since last year the national women league has not been running smoothly but we hope this season it will be better because players will be able to engage themselves fully in playing football.”

She added: “We also did not field some players in the squad because they had documentation problems. The coach was forced to change the squad.”