Bright-Starlets can upset a few nations in the 2022 CECAFA, says Booysen
The South Sudan women’s football team head coach, Shilene Booysen says if the team gets a few things right, the Bright Starlets can upset teams in the CECAFA Women’s Senior Championship tournament currently underway in Njeri Uganda.
South Sudan beat Zanzibar one-nil on Saturday with Luka Deborah Stephen scoring in the 82nd minute to earn the much-needed three points for South Sudan, after losing 2-0 to Tanzania in their opening match on Thursday.
The Bright Starlets will now hope to win their 3rd and final match against Group leaders Ethiopia who were held in two all draw in the earlier match on Saturday.
Zanzibar is out after losing their second game of the tournament but will play a ceremonial match against Tanzania who hopes to qualify for the semis.
In an exclusive interview, head coach Shilene Booysen warned last week that the Bright Starlets should not be underestimated.
“I think we are very positive, full of activism, (and) we’re a new team. We have a lot to prove. But also the girls enjoy playing football.”
“That’s what we need to take them to the next level. The fact that they love playing football, we shouldn’t put too much pressure on them that it drags them down to a level where they can’t perform,” Booysen cautioned, noting that the players don’t have much experience playing big international games which is a setback heading into this year’s CECAFA.
“This is what builds a team’s culture at the end of the day. Winning cultures come from having won regularly at big tournaments at this level, and I think these girls are a bit challenged in that they haven’t played a lot of international games,” Booysen said.
Booysen added seven new players to her 23-woman squad, including Yei Joint Star’s striker Deborah Luka who scored the winner against Zanzibar.
She scored a total of 36 goals in both the South Sudan Women’s League and the South Sudan Women’s Championship tournament in Juba last year. Luka also scored a hat trick in her debut game for the national team against Sudan and netted another in the return leg in Khartoum. She has now scored five goals for her country.
Sam Dante, a sports analyst based in Juba, had projected that the new players would add quality to the team.
“I have seen some new faces from Kenya, new faces that have been brought in, the likes of Deborah (Laku) for Yei Joint Stars who is a good finisher, Mariam (Luis Lasuba) in the midfield, Nybol from Aweil. It’s a formidable team and a team that can at least compete,” Dante told The Insider.
Dante says South Sudan, which ranks 6th in the CECAFA region, goes into the tournament as underdogs but if they get points from either Ethiopia or Tanzania, who are ranked 1st and 3rd respectively, the Starlets may qualify for the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, Booysen who has been testing and assessing her players’ performances for weeks, says she cannot set expectations high but is hopeful the Starlets will score some upsets in the tournament.
“These players have talent, it’s just to get everything together; the structure of football that we want to play, the types of players, the perfect combinations. If we can get this right, I think we have a good chance of actually shocking a few nations,” Booysen said.
South Sudan is 3rd on the table standings with three points. Ethiopia and Tanzania are 1st and 2nd respectively, with four points each but Ethiopia has a wide goal difference.
In Group A, Uganda and Burundi have secured their places in the semi-finals after winning both of their games. The duo class this Sunday to determine the winner of the group.
Depending on Champions Kenya is not participating in this year’s tournament due to an ongoing FIFA ban imposed on the team for government interference in the football association’s affairs.
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