Harambee Starlets head coach Beldine Odemba is confident of redeeming themselves in the ongoing Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) tournament in Morocco when they meey Algeria on Monday, August 3 in their last preliminary match.
Starlets lost 4-0 against Morocco in their opening match on July 26 before succumbing to a 1-0 loss in the hands of Senegal four days later.
Speaking on Sunday at Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat ahead of tomorrow’s fixture to be staged at Olympic Stadium, Odemba underscored the importance of utilizing their goal-scoring chances with the team still searching its first ever win in the continental competition.
“We have been working on the scoring, it is something which we have lacked for the last two matches. We have also improved on our defence. We conceded one goal in the second match which is different from the four goals allowed against Morocco. That is the spirit going into tomorrow's match. We want to push at least for a clean sheet for our goalkeeper Lilian Awuor," she noted.
Awuor echoed Odemba's sentiments saying that the mood in the camp is good and they are optimistic ahead of the ‘do-or-die’ match against the North African heavyweights.
“It is not over till it is over. We are prepared enough for the match and we are looking forward to a win so that we can qualify to the next round. Football is a game of surprises and you never know we may upset the opponents. We have experienced players and young stars and we have good preparations for the match tomorrow,” she said.
Algeria head coach Farid Benstiti admitted that Kenya is a tough side to beat having met them four times before. He further revealed how difficult it was for Algeria to prepare against Starlets compared to the other Group A members of Morocco and Senegal.
“Since the draw for this tournament was done, I was very much more worried to meet Kenya than Senegal and Morocco. We have met before and it is a very great team with talented players. We have tried to analyze Kenya data in vain because we could not get it, but we are prepared enough for tomorrow's task.”
Morocco leads group A with six points, three ahead of Algeria and Senegal who occupy second and third place as Kenya are bottom without a point.
The Atlas Lionesses will complete the group phase against Senegal at the El Hassan Abdallah Stadium in Rabat. All the matches are scheduled to kick off at 11:00pm (Kenya time).
