Nyamunyamu reflects on 'underwhelming' Vihiga Queens' season

Vihiga Queens head coach Boniface Nyamunyamu has admitted to an underwhelming season after the four-time Kenya Women's Premier League (KWPL) champions finished fifth.

The Legacy Makers, who ended their season on Sunday with a hard-fought 3-2 win against Gideon Starlets have only amassed 31 points—a whopping 18 points behind leaders Kenya Police Bullets who will play their final match on Sunday against Madira Soccer Assassins.

Nyamunyamu says his side fell short of their objective, which was to reclaim their title.

“I’m not a happy man with how we performed this season because our objective was to win the title. We will review the season, work on our mistakes and plan for next season because we have to go back to the top,” said Nyamunyamu.

Vihiga Queens kicked off their season amid chaos, as key players like Swaumu Musungu and Christine Adhiambo moved to rivals Kibera Soccer Women; however, they put the turmoil behind them to defeat Bungoma Queens 3-0 in their season opener.

The Vihiga-based side was on course to challenge for the title at the conclusion of the first leg before injuries to key players led by influential defender Ruth Khasoa, disrupted their season. They were only a point behind leaders Kenya Police Bullets.

Their second leg took a different turn, and they were knocked out of the title race, leaving champions-elect Kenya Police Bullets and Ulinzi Starlets competing for it.

Nyamunyamu blamed a lack of depth for their mixed results in the second part of the season after the key players were sidelined.

“We lost our key players and that affected us a lot. Those are circumstances we have to deal with.”

The Legacy Makers were also docked six points after joining other teams in forfeiting matches to protest the Football Kenya Federation's (FKF) unfair treatment of women's football.

Nyamunyamu now says they’ll be forced into the market for proper recruitment in a bid to reclaim their old glory next season.

“Our emphasis on recruitment will go into attacking because we have had to use Martha Amunyolet and Anita Namata, who are midfielders, in the attacking role. We have to bounce back,” Nyamunyamu added.

This was the first time Vihiga Queens finished below the top three places in over a decade.