Lionesses stunned by Czechia in second pool match

The atmosphere hung heavy with disappointment and sadness at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai after Kenya Lionesses narrowly lost to Czech United 12-10 in their second pool match played on Friday 12 January, 2024.

The result marked Lionesses' first loss of the ongoing HSBC Challenger Series. 

The determined ladies to failed to sparkle despite putting their best foot forward. Despite losing the match, the team's effort was commendable.

Dennis Mwanja's charges were coming from a 17-12 win over China in their opening match. 

Lionesses maul China in Challenger Series opener

This time however, they did not play according to the book. They committed basic errors like scrappy breakdowns and handling errors which they paid for dearly.

The match was so closely contested that at some point, there were only twelve players on the pitch. Two players; one from Kenya and another from Czech went to the naughty chair for infringements.

Kenya scored through Stella Wafula and Christabel Lindo, who was later red carded. Speedster Sharon Auma suffered an injury which put her on the sidelines for the better part of the match. Auma was dealing with a knee injury prior to today's match. It seemed to have worsened.

Towards the end of the final half, the ladies on the Kenyan bench were in tears, as the excitement from their male counterparts; Shujaa was replaced by sighs and murmurs of sympathy. By now, the coach was giving instructions, hoping to save the team from the beating.