THE National Women’s Team, Twiga Stars return to the COSAFA Women’s Championship game by facing Botswana at Madibaz Stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa today.
It is a crucial game for both teams, considering if Twiga Stars win they will advance to the quarter-final stage while Botswana who drew with Malawi, also seek victory to revive their quarter final race.
Twiga Stars lead the group with three points and three goals; therefore, they will go to the quarters if they win today.
Their opponents Botswana are placed second with one point, having tied with Malawi after their 1-1 draw on Friday. At the bottom of the group are Comoros, without a point. Comoros will meet with Malawi from the same group at the same venue.
Twiga Stars coach Bakari Shime said during the national team’s training on Sunday that they have drilled well against their opponents with hopes of claiming three more points.
“After the first game, we did a recovery exercise to remove fatigue and ensure quick recovery for the players.” He commented on his opponents’ performance: “After seeing how our opponents played their first game, we noticed they play a physical game using a lot of power and long balls.” Shime explained how prepared they were, he said they will face their opponents in a possession style of play and stretching them because Botswana plays high balls.
“In our next game, we will possess more of the ball and create enough chances because we know the opponents play with high pressure. We will ensure we play a more organised game, recognising when our teammates are playing with great strength and our opponents are playing fast.” In the first encounter Shime hailed his team’s performance following their hefty 3-0 win over Comoros at Madibaz Stadium.
Twiga Stars banked their victory through Donisia Minja in the 13th minute and Enekia Kasonga Lunyamila, who scored a brace in the 41st and 52nd minutes of the game. Lunyamila’s brace gave her the player of the match award.
“I want to congratulate our girls on their performance. The match was tough; we met a strong opponent who played well and gave us a hard time in the first 10- 15 minutes of the first half. However, we saw their weakness and took advantage of their mistakes.” Shime explained that it was an excellent experience to play against Comoros, a team they had not played with before. He added such an experience improves the quality of his team.
