Jaguars eye a strong finish to the hockey league
Western Jaguars coach Mike Malungu has challenged his charges to have a strong start when the second leg of the Kenya Hockey Union Premier League resumes next month.
Jaguars who ended the first leg strongly over the weekend hope for a similar or better show in the second leg of the season which will determine the league winner.
Malungu singled out resilience as the biggest attribute Jaguars have especially with important wins against Greensharks and Park Road Badgers.
“In the majority of our matches, we usually create many chances but we fail to convert them which has been our undoing,” said Malungu.
“If we can be clinical you add to our fighting spirit which is huge then we can be a strong force to reckon with,” he added.
On Sunday Jaguars edged Sharks 2-1 in a league match played in Kakamega. The winners had to come from behind to secure all points. Goals from Sheldon Kimtai and Bethwel Masmbu ensured the points remained with the Western Kenya based side, while Leon Magomere had scored the opening goal for the losing side.
“We trailed our opponents in the second quarter because we were less on the field after our defender Charles Shiundu conceded a penalty after being yellow-carded and missed five minutes,” siad Malungu.
“The team stuck to the attacking strategy despite the setback. Our patient build-up paid off immediately as we equalised and we deserved three points for the effort and commitment of the team. We headed into the break with morale high,” he explained.
Jaguars on Saturday had to go an extra mile to beat hard fighting Parkroad Badgers 1-0 courtesy of Richard Njuki’s 10th-minute effort.
In the men’s Super League, Kisumu Youngsters played out to a goalless draw against Parkroad Tigers while Parklands Sports Club beat Mvita 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller match.
Allan Odongo netted a brace for Parklands with Owen Oduor and Erick Odendo also on the scoresheet. Mvita responded through Javan Ochieng and Bil Olang.
Multimedia University played out to a 2-2 all draw against Kenya College of Accountancy University. David Lihru’s brace in the eighth and 17th minutes earned MMU a vital point while Brian Kiptum and Kevin Oduor scored for KCA.
