Junior Starlets head coach Mildred Cheche says she will, together with her technical bench, need to “instil a lot of mental toughness” in her team after admitting that some of the players were “surprised and played under a lot of pressure” in their first-leg defeat to Cameroon on Sunday.Playing in front of a home crowd at Nyayo Stadium, the Kenya women’s U17 team fell to a sole first-half goal from Cameroonian skipper Fraiche Tiwa Melong, complicating their chances of back-to-back FIFA U17 World Cup appearances.FIFA U17 WCQ: Junior Starlets fall to Cameroon in home first-legCheche’s side, bidding to repeat their historic run to the world tourney last year, will now have to win by two goals or more when the two nations face off again on Friday, 25 April at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.Reflecting on a sobering afternoon – when the Junior Starlets registered their first defeat to an African side in nine matches – Cheche believes there were lots of lessons to pick, including the players’ approach when down by a goal.##NAJAVA_MECA_8868137##“For most of the players, they’ve never been in a situation where we are trailing. Some of them were surprised, under a lot of pressure,” Cheche said of her team’s apparent lack of control when in possession.“So, going into the second leg, we have a lot to do, a lot of things to change, and also things to encourage them with.”Among the positives Cheche took from the narrow loss was the team’s approach in the second half, and the numerous chances they created.Looking forward to a crucial journey up west, she said: “It will be a very tough match, but we have everything to play for, and they [Cameroon] have everything to lose.“We are going all out, and you could see in the second half how they performed.“Psychologically, we have to instil a lot of mental toughness, a lot of fighting spirit. They already have it, but we have to enhance our speed, utilise our strengths, and try to score an early goal to bring us back into the game.”Wanjala wonder strike propels Tusker FC to FKF Premier League summitOn whether Cameroon’s approach in the second half, when their players on multiple instances went down to waste time, affected Junior Starlet’s momentum, Cheche said: “Yes, it did. There was a time they wasted like five minutes, and then the referee took a long time to take them out.But it’s part of the game, when you’re leading, it happens in the match, so we have to be careful in fouling, because they will be going down easily. We will have to minimise our fouls and make sure we utilise any chance we get we score. That way, they won’t get down again, or waste time.”AFCON U20: Kenya to kick off tournament with match against Nigeria
