National boys football champions St Antony’s Kitale revived their chances of booking a quarter-finals slot, thanks to a 3-0 win over Zanzibar’s Jesho la Kujenga Uchumi at the International School of Moshi in Arusha, Tanzania yesterday.
St. Antony’s had lost to defending champions Buddo of Uganda 1-0 on Monday, three days after beating Lindi 4-0 in the opener.
Yesterday’s win means the western region outfit will qualify for the quarter-finals with a win against Tanzania’s Stahiza in their final Pool ‘A’ match today.
St Anthony’s coach Peter Mayoyo lauded the players for rising to the accession after losing to Buddo on Monday. He said: “We had no choice but to win today’s match (yesterday) and I’m glad we are back in the fight for quarter-final places. We should have won by a huge margin but I am impressed with our all-round play,” observed Mayoyo. Daniel Odhiambo (21st minute), Issa Lumumba (66) and Alphonce Omondi (76) scored for the St. Antony’s
They are now on six points from two matches having thrashed Tanzania’s Lindi Secondary School 4-0 in their opening match on Day One of the 18th edition of the games.
At the same time, Itigo Girls High School also kept alive their hopes of advancing after they drew 0-0 with Tanzania’s Kibasila Secondary School. The result left them on five points following a win and two draws. They play Kawempe Muslim from Uganda today.
Team coach Felix Kiprotich said they will have to make use of the many scoring chances ahead of today’s match.
“We are making a come back at this stage and so far so good. However, we need to make use of the many scoring chances that come our way. We look forward to tomorrow’s match as it will be a determiner and we can only hope for the best,” Said Kiprotich.
The four-time Kenyan champions opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over hosts Alliance Girls High School before they drew 1-1 with Rwanda’s Remera Rukoma in their second match.