•Kenya edged a stubborn Tanzania 4-3 on post-match penalties to seal a date with Uganda in Friday’s final at Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu.
•During the dramatic shoot-out, goalkeeper Ibrahim Wanzala saved Said Said and Shariff Wilson’s spot kicks before Syphas Owuor scored the decisive penalty to send Kenya to the final
Image: HANDOUT
Kenya’s Under-18 boys coach Salim Babu believes his charges have what it takes to win the Cecafa Championships despite the tough semi-final match against Tanzania.
Kenya edged a stubborn Tanzania 4-3 on post-match penalties to seal a date with Uganda in Friday’s final at Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu. The teams battled to a barren draw after extra time.
Babu hailed his charges after overcoming the Tanzanians in a hard-fought game.
“The boys were resilient throughout the game. We wasted chances to kill off the game during regular and extra time. However, I’m happy we are now in the finals and our target as I said earlier is to lift the trophy,” said Babu. He added: “I expect a tough game against Uganda but I hope that the boys will prevail.”
During the dramatic shoot-out, goalkeeper Ibrahim Wanzala saved Said Said and Shariff Wilson’s spot kicks before Syphas Owuor scored the decisive penalty to send Kenya to the final and Kisumu fans into celebrations. The fans invaded the pitch in celebration.
In the first semi-final, Uganda narrowly edged Rwanda 1-0 to book a place in the final. Abubakar Mayanja scored the all-important goal in the 59th minute of the fairly balanced game.
Byekwaso Ochama, the Uganda head coach, hailed his charges for sailing to the final. He admitted the final against hosts Kenya will be tough. “They have a huge advantage considering they will be at home but my boys are ready for the fight. It has been a good tournament for us. We want to finish on a high,” said the tactician.
The play-off to determine the third team between Tanzania and Rwanda will also be played on Friday at Jomo Kenyatta International Sports Ground in Kisumu City.
Meanwhile, It was a gloomy end for Kenya women’s national team, Harambee Starlets after they bowed out of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers following their loss to Botswana on Tuesday.
The gallant Kenyan queens lost 2-1 on aggregate to the Zebras at the Botswana National Stadium in Gaborone despite dominating the proceedings for the entire 90 minutes.
Cynthia Shilwatso should have saved the day for Starlets but was unfortunate enough to squander a penalty in the 53rd minute of the hotly-contested encounter.
Starlets stumbled on a glorious to take the lead break when Corazon Aquino’s rasping shot was handled inside the area.
However, Botswana shot-stopper Maitumelo Bosija was the toast of the day, stretching full length to block Shilwatso’s feeble effort.
Bosija was called to action again in the dying minutes of the match, effectively denying Shilwatso another glorious chance to salvage Kenya from the jaws of the gallant Mares.
Coach Beldine Odemba’s charges would soon rue the missed spot kick after their opponents punished them dearly with a goal in the 61st minute that separated the two teams at the full-time whistle.
It was Keitunetse Dithede who returned to haunt the Starlets again with another screamer, having also blasted the back of the net in Nairobi to secure her team the crucial draw.
Harambee Starlets needed to win to seal a historic berth in the biennial continental football showpiece, having played out a one-all draw at Nyayo Stadium on Friday last week.
The loss has effectively condemned Kenya to another season in the cold. Their last appearance in the tournament being in 2016 in Ghana.