Butali keen to rule hockey league
Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) Premier League men’s defending champions Butali Warriors are confident ahead of their rivalry renewal with former champions Kenya Police at the City Park stadium in Nairobi today.
The two longtime rivals had their fate last decided with two fixtures left to close the league, Butali mauled Wazalendo 2-0 on November 18, 2021, to confirm their unsalable 42 points and conquered the league to bag the title.
Both sides kicked off the seasonal campaigns with comfortable 3-0 wins in their openers. It will be a solid reason for the hockey enthusiasts to show up at the City Park stadium on Saturday confident of a memorable clash that will leave the winner to lead the log while the loser could drop, depending on the results of the second Men’s Premier League fixture pitting Green Sharks and Strathmore set to be played at 5pm on Sunday.
Butali experienced 39-year-old midfielder was set to be promoted to a coaching role in 2020 but he is not ready to hang his stick. He told Wikendi Sport that the team is focused on retaining the title and will give a good display against Kenya Police.
“We watched Kenya Police play Wazalendo and we know what to expect when we meet.
Am glad we won our match against Green Sharks; it was necessary we started the season with a win and our ultimate goal is to maintain the winning way until the end of the season,” Butali assistant captain Zack Aura told Wikendi Sports.
Green Sharks and Strathmore Gladiator are also marked for a tough encounter at the same venue this Sunday. Sharks come off a 3-0 loss that ended their good start a week after they beat Parkroad 3-1 on March 5th while the Gladiators led by legendary coach Meshack Senge will seek to taste a win coming off an upsetting 2-2 stalemate with USIU-A on Sunday, March 6th.
Sharks will have a perfect opportunity of rising a place to displace the loser between Butali and Kenya Police with a win or a draw.
The side will opt for the former against Students whose head coach Meshack Senge was spotted recording the match between Butali and Green Sharks maybe to punish any repeated errors by the Sharks when they meet this Sunday.
In the Women’s premier league, defending champs Blazers face a second consecutive acid test against last season’s runners up Strathmore Scorpions. Blazers were held to a 1-1 stalemate by USIU on Sunday while the Scorpions and longtime rivals claimed a 1-0 win to take over the standings command courtesy of two wins.
