FKF-WPL: Police, Ulinzi win big as Zetech falter
What you need to know:
- The star of the match was Police new signing, winger Puren Alukwe, who scored a hat-trick in the second, 38th, and 77th minutes
- Ulinzi Starlets thrashed Wadadia Women 3-0 win at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi
- At Imani Grounds in Ruiru, Kiambu County, Zetech Sparks suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Nakuru City Queens
Kenya Police Bullets kicked off their 2023/24 Football Kenya Federation Women Premier League (FKF-WPL) campaign with a resounding 5-2 victory over Bungoma Queens at Police Sacco Stadium in Nairobi on Saturday.
Assistant coach Habib Hussein took charge of the Bullets as head coach Beldine Odemba is away with the Kenyan women's Under-20 national team, Rising Starlets, in Angola for the second leg of the 2024 U20 Women's World Cup qualifiers.
The star-of-the-match was new signing Puren Alukwe, who scored a hat-trick in the second, 38th and 77th minutes. Midfielders Winnie Gwatenda and Lucy Kwekwe also found the back of the net, scoring goals in the 43rd and 73rd minutes, respectively.
Police playmaker Lydia Akoth also had a hat-trick of assists in the match.
Bungoma had a rough start to the game, gifting Police an early goal two minutes into the match, before they levelled terms via an own-goal on six minutes.
Bungoma scored their second goal through substitute Eunice Alivitsa at the death.
In another FKF-WPL match, Ulinzi Starlets celebrated Kenya Defence Forces Day with a convincing 3-0 win over visiiting Wadadia Women at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
Striker Lucy Nato opened the scoring in the fourth minute, her second goal of the season. Veteran striker Neddy Atieno added the second goal in the 74th minute before Lavender Akinyi sealed the win in the dying minutes of the second half.
Meanwhile, at Imani Grounds in Ruiru, Kiambu County, Zetech Sparks suffered a 2-1 defeat to Nakuru City Queens.
Zetech took the lead through Sherril Shivachi in the 41st minute, but Nakuru turned the tables with goals from Lenah Wanjala and Merceline Wafula in the 61st and 64th minutes, respectively.
"We conceded two easy goals through counter attacks, which proved to be costly for us in the match. These were significant mistakes," said Zetech coach Bernard Kitolo.
"The match officials failed to start the game on time due to poor communication. Despite being scheduled for 11am kick-off, we ended up playing from 2pm and this was a disappointing day for us."
Saturday results
Kenya Police Bullets 5 Bungoma Queens 2
Ulinzi Starlets 3 Wadadia Women 0
Zetech Sparks 1 Nakuru City Queens 2