Acakoro Ladies from Nairobi and Kitale Queens from Rift Valley have made it to the finals in the ongoing Chapa Dimba Na Safaricom National finals.
Kitale Queens qualified for the finals after beating Barcelona Ladies 6:1 in a semifinal held yesterday at Kinoru Stadium, Meru County. Metrine Nanjala scored the opening goal for the energized Kitale Queens in the 20th minute before Daisy Busia scored the second in the 38th minute, the first half ending two-nil. The second half saw Peris Nafula and Agneta Marondo each score a brace for Kitale Queens in 65th & 72nd minutes, and 70th & 82nd minutes respectively. Barcelona’s star Jane Njeri scored a late penalty for her team in the 91st, the match ending 6:1.
“This was a good game though it did not go our way. We are glad we did our best. Our supportive fans gave energy to the players, boosting their morale and the girls responded accordingly. The game was not just on our side,” said Emman Gullat, Coach, Barcelona Ladies.
Acakoro Ladies also booked a date in the grand finale after a match against Changamwe Ladies wining 4:2 in 90 minutes. Sylvia Makhungu gave the Nairobians an early lead scoring a set-piece in the 19th minute before Catherine Awuor scored a hat-trick in the 21st, 35th & 93rd minutes. Changamwe Ladies dominated the second half with Saumu Kahindi and Nancy Akinyi scoring at 46th & 50th minutes respectively to see the match end at 4:2.
‘We played very well today and won the semis. We have a tough opponent in the finals but we will do our best,” said Carol Auma, Captain Acakoro Ladies.
The losing Semifinalists, Barcelona Ladies and Changamwe Ladies received Ksh. 250,000 in cash each. The winner in the finals slated for Sunday will take home Ksh. 1 million while the losing finalist will walk away with Ksh. 500,000 among other individual prizes for the players.
The boys’ semifinals will be played today where Al-Ahly FC from Rift Valley will face South B United from Nairobi as Kisumu’s finest Manyatta United prepare to take on Western Champions, Lugari Blue Saints.