Holders Blue Blue battle into Esse Akida Foundation tourney semis
KILIFI, Kenya, Dec 27 – Defending champions Blue Blue have progressed to the semi-final of the Esse Akida Foundation Tournament after edging out Jupiter Youth 3-1 on post-match penalties in a troublesome quarter closing duel performed in Mkoroshoni, Kilifi County on Friday.
Blue Blue gained the primary version of the tourney final 12 months, when it was performed as a seven-a-side blended model.
This 12 months, match founder Esse Akida, a former Kenyan worldwide, determined to do it in a different way and has spaced out the women and men’s match in a different way.
“I always love to listen to feedback from the people and from last year the feedback I got was the we should separate the men’s tournament from the women’s tournament. I decided to go further and make it a full 11-a-side tournament and I am delighted that we could pull this off,” Akida stated.
The males’s match has attracted eight groups whereas the ladies’s match attracted 5 groups, with winners from Sunday’s finale set to pocket Sh30,000.
Blue Blue are hoping to defend the match, this time as a males’s outfit, and skipper Montrine Kikai says they’re greater than assured of doing so.
“Our ambition is to retain this title. We know that the games are really tough but we are up for it,” Kikai stated, after his facet’s penalties victory over Jupiter.
Blue Blue needed to come from a purpose down, James Charo changing into each hero and villain after scoring the equalizer however was despatched off for a second yellow card with lower than quarter of an hour to play.
They will tackle house floor favorites Ubuntu who additionally wanted penalties to make it to the final 4. They noticed off Mnarani Youth 7-6 in a tense shootout after a 0-0 attract regulation time.
In the second semi-final, Mekoan, who thrashed Kilifi United 3-0 within the third quarter closing will tackle Young Atomic who beat Kilifi All Stars 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 attract regulation time.
Meanwhile within the ladies’ match, the star-studded Kilifi Elite are already by means of to the ultimate after thrashing Kilifi Ladies 3-0 courtesy of Josephine Kitsao’s hattrick.
The second semi-final, pitting Majajani and Eleven Commandos might be performed Saturday morning.
Elite had been the match’s toast, having gained each their group spherical matches, thrashing Makion Ladies 4-0 and Eleven Commandoes 3-0. Kitsao and Assia Ali scored twice every in opposition to Makion, whule the previous had one other brace in opposition to Commandos and Assia the opposite.
Commandos gained their final match in opposition to Makion 2-1, Thamia Reminson hitting the winner 5 minutes to time.
“We are really delighted to have made the semis because that was the least of our targets. After we lost the first match, we really pushed ourselves in the second game to at least get a win which we knew would send us to the semis. Our dream now is to make the final. We know it will not be easy but we are psyched for it. We were abit stage-frightened in the first game but now we are good,” Christine Maua, the Commandos skipper stated after the sport.
The match is performed throughout three days, the 2 males’s semis set to be performed Saturday afternoon, whereas each the women and men’s closing might be performed Sunday, on the Mkoroshoni Grounds in Kilifi.
Akida believes that this match will supply a large platform for upcoming gamers to showcase their expertise, construct their confidence and take their careers to the subsequent degree.
“When I was growing up here, there was nothing like tournaments especially for girls. I want to offer my community such a platform because I know how much it means to them,” Akida stated.
