MIXED FORTUNES: Harambee Starlets make history with AWCON slot as Stars fail

Kenya Harambee Starlets players celebrates their goal against Burundi during their Cecafa Senior Women Championship at Njeru Technical Centre, Jinja, Uganda on Tuesday 13/09/16.PHOTO.BONIFACE OKENDO

It was a season of mixed results for the Kenya national football teams.

While the men’s senior team Harambee Stars failed to qualify for next month’s Africa Nations Cup in Gabon, Harambee Starlets beat the odds to make their 2016 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations debut in Limbe, Cameroon.

It is a year that Nick Mwendwa, 38, was elected Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president to replace Sam Nyamweya during the national elections held in February.

Mwendwa hit the ground running by appointing Stanley Okumbi as Harambee Stars head coach to succeed Scot Bobby Williamson.

However, the appointment didn’t go well with many football stakeholders and they criticised the federation and questioned Okumbi’s credibility.

The criticism increased after a gambled team selection that resulted in two 1-0 defeats to Guinea Bissau. The losses reduced Kenya’s AFCON qualification hopes but FKF stood by him.

But nine months later, the 35-year old former Mathare United coach is slowly winning fans’ confidence and reviving the national team's zeal.

After the two losses, Okumbi has had a good run and has gone unbeaten in eight games, never mind most of the them are friendly ties.

“We were nowhere when we came into office, but one year later, we have achieved a lot. Eight matches unbeaten for Harambee Stars and Harambee Starlets reaching AWCON finals are great achievements for us.

“That’s why I can rate our first year’s national team’s performance as 7/10. We have made proper strides and we  hope to improve as we aim to achieve our 2022 World Cup vision,” Mwendwa said.

Okumbi managed to pull a 2-1 win over Congo Brazzaville in a dead rubber AFCON qualifiers tie before holding Zambia 1-1 in Lusaka.

In between, Stars drew 1-1 against Tanzania, registered two 1-0 wins over Democratic Republic of Congo away and Liberia at home in friendlies to build an impressive eight match winning streak.

But while Harambee Stars struggled to get results, the women, Harambee Starlets, had no such problems.

Although the Starlets made history by qualifying for AWCON finals for the first time, technical ineptness, sloppy defending and poor goalkeeping cost them in the eight-team tournament.

Kenya went into the competition with a lofty semi-final finish target but ended up losing all three Group B matches and became first team to exit the tournament.

“Every team begins from somewhere. It was a good year with great learning experience and we hope to bounce back in the next competition. Remember, we qualified for AWCON tournament before an organised women’s league and that shows our potential.

“Despite our inexperience, the players have shown their capabilities against the best in the continent. And if my players have learned from their AWCON experience, then as a coach I am happy,” said Starlets coach David Ouma.

His sentiments were echoed by Starlets assistant captain Wendy Achieng’.

“It has been a good year for us. Every day is a learning process and I believe AWCON gave us an opportunity to grow. We just need to build on from that experience, correct our mistakes and start afresh.

"We have learnt a lot and gained experience from the three matches played,” said the Spedag defender.

The Starlets, who had lost 2-1 to Tanzania in the East and Central Senior Challenge Cup finals held in Uganda in September, suffered two 3-1 losses to bronze winners Ghana and Mali in AWCON matches.

They then wrapped up the tournament with a 4-0 humiliation at the hands of ten-time continental champions Nigeria.

Local clubs also performed dismally in the CAF competitions. Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia and 2015 GOtv Shield winners Bandari failed to make it past the first round of the Champions League and Confederations Cup respectively.

On the domestic scene, Tusker reclaimed the KPL title they last won in 2012 after dethroning holders Gor Mahia, who finished second with 54 points, seven behind Tusker. This was just after the Brewers had ended their 23-year GOtv Shield drought by beating Ulinzi Stars 1-0 in the October final.

It was also a good year for Muhoroni Youth who clinched the KPL Top 8 tournament after overcoming Gor Mahia 1-0 in the final as AFC Leopards and Sofapaka narrowly survived relegation.

Nairobi City Stars and Ushuru were relegated while Nzoia United and Kariobangi Sharks were promoted to the KPL.

However, it was 2016 KPL Footballer of the Year Awards that ended up as the season’s talking point following the organisers' decision to award the Best Player gong to Western Stima midfielder Kenneth Muguna.

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