Vihiga Queens head coach Charles Okere firmly believes his charges did the best they could despite losing out to Mamelodi Sundowns in the CAF Women’s Champions League match played on Saturday at Al Salaam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.
Queens were chasing for the Group B win but could not breakdown the South Africans who scored their goal on the third minute courtesy of Melinda Kagadiete.
However, Okere was happy with the reaction and character shown by his players in the second half as they almost salvaged a draw with a last-gasp free-kick from Jentrix Shikangwa which hit the crossbar.
“I congratulate Mamelodi Sundowns on the win, and I congratulate my players on fighting till the end. We’ve trained to play defensively but we did not defend well. To be able to attack, we have to defend and prevent goals, so when we do that we can win,”Okere told reporters after the match.
Okere also praised his club’s goalkeeper Lilian Onyango Awuor for making crucial saves in the second stanza that made her win the Woman of The Match Award.
“It’s very encouraging for our goalkeeper to win Woman of The Match and will help her focus more,” Okere noted.
Mamelodi Sundowns, who are the winners of last year’s inaugural South African Women’s Soccer League, dominated much of the proceedings.
The South Africans qualified for the premier continental women’s club competition after beating Black Rhinos Queens of Zimbabwe 3-0 in the final of the Cosafa qualifiers.
For Vihiga, they beat Ethiopia’s Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) in the CECAFA Zonal qualifiers final to book the zone’s sole ticket to the inaugural event.
The Kenyan side will face ASFAR Club of Morocco in the second Group B match on November 9, with the third against River Angels of Nigeria being played on November 12.
