By Lorraine Ruto,

A last minute goal scored by Dorcas Shikobe  steered Harambee Starlets to a  1-0  win over their Botswana counterparts  in the return leg of the Women 2016 Rio qualifier match played  on Sunday at the Machakos
Stadium.

Shikobe  received a  good pass from first leg scorer Mary Kinuthia to drive home a tricky shot at the far  corner past  Botswana  Keeper  Sedilame Besija amid thunderous cheers  from home  supporters.

The Kenya  ladies have now  qualified to the second round by an aggregate 2-2 scoreline.

During the first leg,Kenya lost 2-1 to their counterparts  at the Lobaste Complex, Botswana a fortnight ago.

The  visitors missed a clear cut chance in the early stages when Phiona Thuto broke through  and with only Kenya keeper Pauline Atieno to beat,she hesitated before  the latter grabbed from her feet.

The Kenyans  sparked back to life in the second  half with Neddy Atieno,Kinuthia and Chacha Tabaka waging attack after another but the Botswana defence stood firm before thwarted their efforts.The visitors  resorted to time wasting that  did  not save  them  from exiting from the tournament.

Speaking after the match,Kenya coach David Ouma was all smiles saying his  tactics and game plan  paid  dividends despite  his strikers  squandering several clear chances. I’m happy our game plan worked well. We deployed a totally different system from  the first leg with an attack minded plan and at the same  time  being defensive to avoid  conceding a goal.

I have  confidence  with good preparationsand high profile friendlies, we can go far in the tournament “ he said

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com