Kenya Divas head coach Tapiwa Chirenda took responsibility for his team's earlier struggles before guiding them to a historic 54-50 victory over Zambia that kept their 2027 Netball World Cup campaign alive.
The Zimbabwean coach watched his side fall four goals behind at halftime at the Kasarani Indoor Arena, Nairobi on Wednesday, but Kenya produced a dramatic second-half turnaround to beat Zambia for the first time and qualify for the Africa Netball Cup regional World Cup qualification semi-finals.
Zambia led 14-13 after the opening quarter and extended the advantage to 27-24 at halftime.
But Chirenda's Kenya emerged from the break with renewed purpose, eventually overturning the deficit and controlling the decisive stages of the contest.
Goal shooter Lydia Nyapere levelled the match at 29-29 with 10:55 remaining in the third quarter, before goal attack Doreen Akinyi put Kenya ahead.
The Divas then established a 41-37 advantage going into the final quarter.
Nyapere and Akinyi continued to deliver under pressure, with Kenya eventually securing a 54-50 victory.
For former Zimbabwe men and Zimbabwe women nerball teams head coach Chirenda, the result was the reward for confronting the team's mistakes rather than dwelling on them.
“We went back. We sat down. I took responsibility. We started over. We started afresh. And today, the game that mattered the most, we won,” he said.
The coach also acknowledged the quality of Zambia's performance, noting that the opponents had grown stronger as the tournament progressed.
“We knew Zambia, when they came first, they were jet-lagged. And the games they played prior to these games, you could see they were improving every time,” narrated Chirenda.
“This is a very strong squad. I would love to say to Zambia, they gave us a good fight. These guys were so good.”
The coach's emphasis on composure was reflected in Kenya's response after halftime.
Nyapere disclosed that the players themselves held a meeting during the match to calm each other down as the physical contest threatened to get away from them.
“It was not an easy match. It was so physical, to a point we were almost losing it. But since we have those smart coaches, they were able to calm us down,” she said.
Kenya's victory was especially significant because it ended a long wait for a win over 17th-ranked Zambia.
“Since I started playing, I have never faced Zambia. But this is the first time we are facing Zambia. And this is the first win I am getting from Zambia,” added Nyapere.
The victory keeps Kenya's hopes of reaching the 2027 World Cup in Sydney alive. Kenya Divas are ranked 21st in World Netball rankings, while Namibia occupy position 14.
The Divas will now play Namibia for a place in the final, while unbeaten defending champions South Africa take on Malawi in the other semi-final.
After a difficult start to the tournament, Chirenda's decision to reset his team has given Kenya another opportunity to chase both continental honours and a place at the World Cup.
Matchday 5 results (September 23):
Men
Malawi 31-52 Uganda
Uganda 54-49 Malawi
Women
Tanzania 28-73 Zimbabwe
Zambia 50-54 Kenya
Namibia 33-55 South Africa
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