South Sudan national women’s soccer team, Bright Starlets, were a class below their Kenyan counterparts, Harambee Starlets, who progress to the next stage of Africa Women Cup of Nations qualifiers after a 15-1 aggregate score.
Both legs were played in Kenya as South Sudan opted to stage their home leg at Nyayo stadium.
While the scoreline is significantly lopsided, South Sudan’s very young squad picked plenty of positives as they continue to build a team from scratch.
The Bright Starlets effort and improved display was epitomised by a sumptuous 71st minute goal netted by former Makolanders forward Amy Last.
After sustained pressure to grab something from the far experienced Kenya Lasy let fly a rasping shot that was unstoppable to get her country on the scoreboard.
Early display by the Bright Starlets marked huge improvements from their performance in the opening leg. It took Kenya 37 minutes to score from the spot, a sharp contrast to the first leg in which the charged Harambee Starlets were cruising by the 3rd minute.
The determination and discipline of the Bright Starlets was dented the penalty and Kenya capitalized to score another just before halftime.
Concentration lapse at the beginning of second half allowed Kenya to speed away and kill the spirit earlier exhibited by Bright Starlets.
South Sudan technical team managed to rally the girls back to the unit that was so solid in the opening half but Kenya’s experience and skills wasn’t going to be denied.
They made sure South Sudan would not progress but Africa’s youngest nation can be proud of the improvement the team is undergoing.
