At Nyayo Stadium on Friday, the Busia County girls’ team defeated Nairobi 7-0 to go to the semifinals of the first-ever Talanta Hela Under-19 national football championship.

Faith Lorna was the player of the match, displaying exceptional technical skill throughout and scoring a hat-trick in the 33rd, 76th, and 78th minutes.

Yvonne Adhiambo, who came on as a second-half substitution, was also having a great game. She scored twice in the 87th and 90+2 minutes to assist their opponents lose.

In the 43rd and 73rd minutes, Diana Anyango and Joyangela Valencia each scored a goal to further inflict distress on the unfortunate Nairobi squad in the one-sided match.

Head coach Edward Sakwa of Busia refuted the idea that they were matched with a less fearsome opponent, attributing their outstanding performance to excellent preparation.

“I’m not surprised by the outcome in any way. We took to the pitch confidently knowing we had prepared well for the encounter,” Sakwa said.

“I don’t think we were paired with a weaker opponent. Nairobi just lost their plot in the match, giving our girls a field day,” he added.

According to Sakwa, their strategy in the semifinals will be determined by the caliber of their opponents.

“We are waiting for the outcome of other quarterfinal matches to know who our opponents will be in the semifinals. We expect to meet either Homabay or Machakos,” Sakwa remarked.  Nairobi’s head coach attributed their big fall to inadequate preparations.

“A team needs at least three months to prepare adequately for this kind of tournament. We had only three weeks to assemble and polish our team,” he said. Elsewhere at the Utalii grounds, Kisumu beat Kakamega 3-1 in an enthralling quarterfinal clash to book a semifinal berth.