Kenya convincingly beat Botswana 3-0 to become the fourth team to secure a quarter final slot at the ongoing Copa Cola Cola U16 African Cup of Nations at Nakuru High School yesterday.
The home team started on a high as 30 seconds into the match, Issa Rashid beautifully controlled a pass from Jacob Onyango and slotted the ball past the hapless Botswana keeper. The goal seemed to stun the Southern Africa side as they resorted to playing defensively for the first quarter of the game.
Kenya continued to dominate proceedings with Lucas Maina, Wisdom Nayah and goal-scorer Rashid running the show in midfield. Botswana’s rear-guard led by captain Sekwai Letlamoreng did well to deny Kenya on several occasions.
The captain had Botswana’s best chance with the scores still 1-0 when he rose highest to meet a free-kick but failed to direct his header on target. Kenya continued to dominate play and their second goal finally come in the 28th minute when a pass from Maina split the defense and was met with an excellent finish from Answar Shamuni.
In the 68th minute Kenya was able to finish off the game when substitute Isaiah Abwal scored the third and final goal. “I expect us to have tougher matches in the knockout stages so we didn’t use match energy today considering we had already qualified for the quarter-finals,” said Kenya coach Peter Mayoyo.
Meanwhile, a dominant Nigeria also booked a last eight spot following a 3-0 win over Zimbabwe in a Group ‘B’ match. Goals from Prosper Chukwuemeka, Gift Williams and Omodara Olamilekan helped the West African side register a comfortable win. Nigeria and Kenya join Botswana and Mozambique in the quarter final stage.
