Former Women Premier League (WPL) champions Mathare Women’s find themselves in unfamiliar territory, having been relegated to the women’s division one league after the 2020/21 season but coach Ann Aluoch is confident they will be back to the top soon. 2021/2022 FKF Women Division One Fixture has been released…🔜 Home Tie against @LimuruStarlets will be our first match as we start our new journey in the division.The Team’s Official Squad for the season is to be released tomorrow at 2pm EAT.#MUWFC pic.twitter.com/temgoZhrq6— Mathare Women FC (@mathare_women) January 3, 2022 At the moment, the tactician has prepared a relatively new squad, with players drawn from the the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), for the competition expected in the lower division and believes they are ready for action. The women’s division one league kicks off on 8 January 2022 with the Komarock-based side facing Limuru Starlets at home in their first league match. “The first thing for me and the team was to accept that we are playing in the lower league after so many year of being at the top. Next was to plot a path to making it back to the top tier after which we began training. FT: @mathare_women 4-0 @LimuruStarlets No change on the scoreline in the second period. Big win for the ladies. Newell and Fauziah continued with their impressive run of bagging in the goals.#MUWLIM pic.twitter.com/XibzNL4Ju1— Mathare Women FC (@mathare_women) November 6, 2021 Nine of the players in the top tier squad left so that meant bringing in fresh talent from our academy. Tactically, this is a good side and all they need is league experience, approach and how to handle the competition as most of them have not featured in a league before,” offered Aluoch. As part of their preparations for the season and the new territory, Aluoch gave her charges a feel of the competition to expect with six friendly matches, four against premier league clubs. 📷 | Yesterday’s win#MUWMAKO pic.twitter.com/U66Pz6KkYi— Mathare Women FC (@mathare_women) December 24, 2021 “We played against teams like Thika Queens, Ulinzi Starlets, Kayole Starlets and managed a win against the latter. The loses in the other matches were of respectable margins and that was a good morale booster for the youngsters as they have seen the team, previously go down by bigger margins. I also made sure to pit them against their peers in division one and they won those matches which is a good indicator of what to expect in the league,” added the tactician. While the pressure to deliver is at an all-time high for Aluoch, she says some outside factors like playing surfaces could affect her team’s performance in the beginning. FT: @mathare_women 5-2 @MakolandersLfc Kwamboka continued from where she left in the first period. Clivent and Newell came off the bench to put their name on the score sheet. The visitors finished the match by grabbing two late goals which were not enough for a comeback. pic.twitter.com/aPblByFsUc— Mathare Women FC (@mathare_women) December 23, 2021 “Coaching Mathare comes with pressure and alot of expectations but I am up to the task. However, it is unfamiliar territory for me and the players. We do not know how most of the teams play and it will take a bit of settling in to do. We are, however, ready for the challenge as we look to fight for that single ticket from our zone for promotion” she said.
