“This season, we lost eight players from our starting eleven, and Jerrine, a key player in my squad, now remains as one of our senior team members and I hope to build a team around her."
Mathare United Women FC and Rising Starlets U20 forward Jerrine Athiambo continued her impressive form in the new season, scoring the lone goal that secured a point for her team against Makolanders FC in the Women’s National Super League clash on November 3rd, 2024, at the Calvary grounds in Kayole.
In what marked Junior Starlets assistant coach Ann Aluoch return from the 2024 FIFA World Cup 17, Mathare played impressively from the outset, maintaining possession with their tikitaka style of football. They nearly took the lead in the first half through Iddah Adhiambo, but her goal was ruled offside, leaving both teams levelled at halftime.
The second half was for both teams to take, with both sides pushing for dominance. Makolanders struck first in the 51st minute as Evannah Nyakha executed a dazzling solo run, weaving through Mathare’s defense before slotting the ball beyond the goalkeeper’s reach. Unfortunately, Makolanders lost Nyakha moments later after she went down injured.
Just six minutes later, Jerrine equalized for Mathare, reigniting their hopes for victory. They went on to create many chances but failed to get a second goal, resulting to the teams sharing the spoils at the end.
Jerrine credited her strong performance to hard work and the team’s current training schedule, expressing her motivation to take Mathare to the top tier of women’s football. She has now scored three goals in the last two games.
Coach Aunty, as she is commonly known, praised her squad for their resilience after conceding and quickly equalizing. She also thanked her technical bench for maintaining competitiveness during her absence in the four matches she wasn’t around and highlighted the Komarock derby win against Kayole Starlets.
Regarding Jerrine, Aunty noted, “This season, we lost eight players from our starting eleven, and Jerrine, a key player in my squad, now remains as one of our senior team members and I hope to build a team around her.”
She also pointed out the vast knowledge she has returned with from the first world cup experience for a Kenyan squad. “It’s been a fantastic experience for me being on the that technical bench. We’ve learnt a lot from there and it is a kind of knowledge that we can put in use for the good of football in our country.”
She also called out match officials, to try and make correct calls sighting Iddah’s goal should have stood instead of being called offside. Currently, Mathare has one win, two draws and one loss in the league.