Starlets tackle Tanzania

Kenya Harambee Starlets Neddy Atieno(L) struggle for ball possession against Souzane Zilfa of Burundi during their Cecafa Senior Women Championship at Njeru Technical Centre, Jinja, Uganda on Tuesday 13/09/16.PHOTO.BONIFACE OKENDO

National Women Football Team, Harambee Starlets face defending champions Kilimanjaro Queens of Tanzania in the second match of the Cecafa Women Championship at the Stade de Kigali, Nyamirambo today.

The David Ouma-coached side will be seeking a win after falling to Crested Cranes of Uganda in the opening match on Thursday. Today's match kicks-off at 5:15pm Kenyan time.

The fixture will be a repeat of the 2016 finals when Tanzania lifted the title with a 2-1 win.

Commenting after the loss to Uganda coach Ouma said his tactical orientation in the match was good but faulted his strikers.

"We developed play well from the back to midfield but we missed a lot of chances especially in the opposition box.

"We had many chances including one on ones with their goalkeeper but yet again we failed to tap in. These are the same mistakes we had in our match against Equatorial Guinea.

"We conceded a sloppy goal. I'm now looking at how the team will react after the defeat," Ouma said.

Ouma has to play his cards well considering that Tanzania is a very tactical team and has speedy players.

Tanzania are also smarting from a 1-0 loss to Rwanda in the opening match.

The shock 1-0 defeat to Uganda was the first for Ouma against the Crested Cranes as he has guided the national side in three outings and won in all occasions without conceding a goal.

This year’s edition is a tricky one for Ouma and his charges as the championship is played on a round robin format and the loss has complicated the equation for the Kenyans.

Despite being eliminated in the group stage in the last edition, Rwanda alongside Ethiopia remain favourites in the championship with the home side having massive chances of lifting the title.

Rwanda has not taken part in the continental qualifiers unlike Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. Kenya still remain superior in the region following an outing in the African Women Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon in 2016 where they were eliminated in the preliminary stage.

Starlets will turn to Neddy Atieno in search of goals today despite missing numerous chances in the opening match against Uganda. The speedy winger will be complemented by Mwanahalima Adam and Teresa Engesha.

Tanzania will be steered by long serving skipper and forward Asha Rashid who was crucial at the last edition with support at the back by custodian Fatuma Omari.