It was a weekend of high-scoring margins in various Kenya Hockey Union men’s Premier League matches as teams came out guns blazing, all in a bid to stamp authority and remain in contest for the new 2018 season. Particular sides that recorded maximum points in the weekend include reigning champions Kenya Police, Butali Warriors, Green Sharks and Sikh Union.
Green Sharks bag twin wins
After starting the season on a low against Butali in the match that was rained off, Greensharks moved in quick to make amends with two straight victories that saw them move up the standings with Kenya Police and Butali.
The Ben Owaga coached side first beat off stern resistance from Park Road Badgers on Saturday evening to record a 2-0 victory, with both goals coming after halftime break. The visitors were the most dominant team from the onset but could not break down the Park Road Badger back line in the first two quarters, prompting the tactician to try several replacements upfront. Skipper Leon Magomere was however on the forefront as he scored the opener in the third quarter, Chris Wokila doubled up the scores with a penalty stroke to cap off the hard-fought win.
The triumph on Saturday gave Green Sharks more confidence as they eased to a 4-1 victory over Parklands Sports Club on Sunday, taking their point tally to six to sit third on the Men’s Premier League table.
Police blank Wazalendo
Men’s Premier League Champions Kenya Police were on their daily routine, thumping Wazalendo 4-0 with goals from Moses Cheplait, Samson Kibirir, Kennedy Sibweche and Samuel Oungo. The law enforcers face an uphill task of retaining the title given the intensified competition from the rejuvenated Butali Warriors and Green Sharks.
Butali go top with win over Parkroad
Butali Warriors continued with their perfect run in the new season by beating Park Road Badgers 5-0 on Sunday, a result which took them to the summit of the men’s Premier League table.
New man George Mutira put his side on the lead after deflecting Zack Aura’s shot past goalkeeper Allan Agesa in the 11th minute and later doubled up in the 40th minute to take his goal tally to four.
The two goals lowered the moderation of the game, with Park Road resorting to more of defense as they sought to prevent conceding more goals. Their plan however did not work and found themselves trailing further when Brian Musasia and Derrick Kuloba found the back of the net in a span of three minutes to take their side’s lead to 4-0.
The last minute of the match saw Emmanuel Simiyu get himself into the score sheet with Butali’s fifth goal. Butali top the table standings with six points, same as Police and Green Sharks who have lesser goal differences.
Other matches
In another Premier league match of the weekend, Sikh Union got their first win of the season following a 4-1 win over Nakuru Hockey Club in Nakuru.
Gorilla and Thika Rovers were the victors in the men’s National League, Gorilla running riot on Karate Axiom in a 5-1 win while Rovers edged Wazalendo Youth 2-1.
Weekend results
Premier League men:
Saturday
Nakuru 1-4 Sikh Union
Western Jaguars 0-0 KCA-U
Wazalendo 0-4 Kenya Police
Parkroad 0-2 Greensharks
Sunday
Parklands 1-4 Greensharks
Parkroad 0-5 Butali
National League men
Karate Axiom 1-5 Gorilla
Wazalendo Youth 1-2 Thika Rovers
Premier League women
Telkom 7-0 Amiras