Brenda Achieng's second-half hat-trick saw Kenya’s U-17 national ladies football team, Junior Starlets, thrash Namibia 5-0 on Saturday at Ulinzi Sports Complex, Lang'ata in Nairobi.
Following a 2-1 win last week in Windhoek, Emily Adhiambo and substitute Elizabeth Opiyo also scored, in addition to Achieng's hat-trick in Nairobi to secure a dominant 7-1 aggregate victory in their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign, a feat that now head coach Mildred Cheche has emphasized as important.
"We have been to the U-17 World Cup before; that experience is something that has motivated us to dare another opportunity, but this time round go and fight for our place at the global football scene," Cheche had told the media on Friday.
After a frustrating, scoreless first half that mirrored the missed opportunities of the first leg, Mildred Cheche’s charges found their clinical edge in the second half. Just minutes after the restart, Achieng broke the deadlock with a sensational solo run, slicing through the Namibian backline to slot home the opener.
The floodgates officially opened shortly when Emily Adhiambo unleashed a thunderbolt from distance into the back of the net for 2-0 lead, and then it was again a Brenda Achieng show, doubling her personal tally with a clinical finish for 3-0, before completing a magnificent hat-trick moments later.
Elizabeth Opiyo added the final goal after ghosting into the box to score the fifth goal of the afternoon and seal the 5-0 rout (7-1 on aggregate).
Kenya's Junior Starlets now march on to the next round where they will face Uganda, a neighboring country that is known for their physicality, massive sive and technical abilities, something that Mildred Cheche, however, has brushed off, saying it will be another day in the office that she will take up the challenge.