Makolanders, Nakuru Queens win WPL matches

Makolanders opened their 2020 Women's Premier League Zone A campaign with a 3-0 win over Mathare United at the Camp Toyoyo grounds, Nairobi on Saturday.

Christine Nafula grabbed a brace and Nyarosto Olwichi scored the other for Makolanders, who finished 10th last season.

“Winning the first game is always a motivation for the team and I’m glad that they handled the opponents really well, because they were also very tough especially in the first half where they thrived with ball possession,” said Rishadi Shedu, Makolanders coach.

The match, which had a mostly uneventful first half, came alive in the second half when Nafula secured the first goal for her team, kicking the ball directly into the net after a sleek pass from her teammate. Three minutes later, Nafula got the second goal after she found herself alone with the Mathare goalkeeper.

Olwichi later secured the third goal in the 78th minute after making it past a strong Mathare United defence to eventually score a few meters away from the box.

In the other match of the day, Nakuru Queens launched their campaign by downing Oserian Ladies 3-1 in their Zone B contest at the Afraha Stadium in Nakuru.

Josephine Imungu scored a brace for the team in the 15th and 67th minutes respectively, before Diana Koskei added the third goal in the 81st minute giving them their first three points.

“I’m happy with how the girls handled the match with a lot of composure and sticking to our game plan of being more aggressive on our attacks.

This is a great motivation since we are newbies in the league and hope to continue with the same results as the league progress,” said Nakuru Queens coach. Benard Esitoko on phone from Nakuru.