Mombasa’s Bandari Youth and Changamwe Ladies advanced to the Safaricom Chapa Dimba coast regional finals set for tomorrow Sunday, at Mbaraki Stadium in Mombasa. They each won in their respective semi-final matches played today.
Playing against Taita Taveta’s Bahati Juniors, Bandari Youth took the lead in the 35th minute through William Gitamu, who scored a solitary goal to earn them a 1-0 victory. They will face The Young Gunners from Tana River County, who won 4-2 against King Loyal FC from Lamu on a penalty shootout after the game ended 1-1 in regular time.
“I am glad that we have advanced to the finals set for tomorrow, where we will be facing Bandari Youth after winning our game in a penalty shootout. Reaching this level is something we don’t take for granted, as in the last edition, we were knocked out at the county level. Today’s game was not easy as King Loyal is also a tough team, but again, I believe our solid defense worked out for us as we denied them a lot of chances.” Said Kassim Rhage, Assistant Coach, Young Gunners.
The defending regional champions Changamwe Ladies’ quest to retain the title in the girls’ category remained alive after beating Ukunda Starlets from Kilifi 4-1. Margaret Nafula scored a brace, with Leah Chebet and Diana Mkando each scoring a goal. Ukunda’s only goal was scored by Mwaka Grace.
They will now play their archrivals Bulls Starlets from Kilifi. In the opening match, Bulls Starlets beat Wenje Secondary from Tana River 7-0 in a one-sided semi-final. Gloria Mupa, in outstanding form, scored five goals for her side with Sarah Grace and Fatuma Tumaini each scoring one goal.
The winning teams (boys’ and girls’ team) will receive Ksh. 250,000 and book a slot to represent the region at the national finals set for March. The runners-up teams will take home Ksh. 150,000 each. The Best Goalkeeper, Top Scorer and Most Valuable Player (boys and girls) will receive Ksh. 30,000. In addition to the prize money each player, both winners and runners-up will also get Neon Smartphones, the first locally assembled 4G smartphone in Kenya.