Kenya national football team Harambee Starlets fell to hosts Zimbabwe in the semifinal match of Confederation of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA).
The defending champions netted four to edge out Kenya, the invitees in the tournament.
Ironically, it was Kenya who gave Zimbabwe a lifeline in the tournament by beating Swaziland 1-0 to enable them sail through as the best runners-up from the first round and Zimbabwe went on to whack Kenya 4-0 contrary to expectations.
Head coach Richard Kanyi is however happy that his target of reaching the semis was met, and his charges will hold on to the valuable lessons learnt as they prepare for upcoming tournaments.
“We lost this game because of the mental bit of it. We could not sustain the pressure and we ended up making many mistakes. But I am happy with how we fared in the tournament because our target was to get to the semi-finals. We pick the lessons and begin preparations for CECAFA now,” Kanyi said.
Starlets missed a final slot, but the bronze medal is still within sight.
They will be keen on redeeming themselves in the third-place playoff match against Zambia who earlier threw a 3-0 lead and when on to lose 5-3 on post-match penalties against South Africa.