Homabay County Under 19 girls team coach Maurice Omoya has blamed their loss to Busia in the semifinal of the Talanta Hela Under 19 national girls semifinal on several factors.The spirited ladies defied the odds to the semi-final stage where they went down 5-0 to Busia in the match played at the Nyayo Stadium on Sunday.Congratulations to our Under-19 Boys team for making it to the finals of the Talanta Hela tournament and a job well done to the girls! A classical display of football, & sheer determination to succeed, & with a real chance for the boys to win the finals. Join me to cheer on our… pic.twitter.com/FyrQ6ugoLK— Gladys Wanga, CBS (@gladyswanga) December 10, 2023 Homabay proceeded to this stage after humbling stubborn Machakos 5-4 on penalties. The sides shared 2-2 spoils at regular time.At the same time, Busia County showed Nairobi who is boss following a 7-0 victory in the semifinal.Speaking after the tough loss, the tactician noted that some of his key players were diagnosed with malaria and were undergoing treatment. Among the key players included Joy Marvelous. How double-licensing strategy and a thriving youth league fueled Uganda’s CECAFA U18 victoryCoach Omoya also said that his charges picked injuries in the opening minutes of the game, resulting in the poor show.”Today’s (Sunday) match did not yield the results we had hoped for but that’s mainly due to injury that beset our team in the initial minutes of the game. Previous injuries also forced some abrupt changes to the squad,” he stated.”There are a couple of players like Joy Marvelous who also fell ill and are currently being treated for Malaria,” Omoya continued.What further posed a challenge was finding replacements for the injured and sick players. Omoya noted that there were fewer girls playing football in the community, making it challenging to build a larger squad.##NAJAVA_MECA_7729472##”It’s usually difficult to get the right replacements, especially in a girl’s team because few of them play football. We are going back to the drawing board to rectify the loopholes that cost us today’s game before our third-place playoffs tomorrow (Monday),” he said.The second semi-final, initially between Kisumu and Uasin Gishu was started late due to a tussle over player ineligibility. Kakamega had presented a case protesting the eligibility of one of the Kisumu players after they lost in the quarters.The case was admitted and Kakamega initially won the appeal, but the same was overturned in the morning, leading to three teams presenting themselves for the final at the Utalii Grounds Sunday morning.Uganda holds off Kenya to retain FIA CAC MX titleEventually, Kisumu won the appeal to defeat Uasin Gishu 3-1 to qualify for the final.Homabay will lock horns with Uasin Gishu in the third-place playoff later in the day. In the men’s category, Kisumu County will take on Homabay in a ‘Nyanza Derby’ of the national boys’ final after stunning tournament favorites Vihiga 4-2 on post-match penalties in the semis at the Nyayo Stadium on Sunday.The finals of the Talanta Hela Under 19 national football tournament will be played on December 12 to mark Jamhuri Day.
