Homeboyz win over Kabras throws title into three-way race
Homeboyz coach Jason Hector has explained how he managed to nullify the threat of Kabras Sugar to hand the log leaders a first Kenya Cup defeat this season.
Round eight saw the deejays record a rare 20-17 win over Kabras, who lead the standings with 35 points, but it was the way they were organised defensively, how they managed territorial kicks and how they had the right breakdowns formula that made the difference.
Homeboyz fly half Evin Asena’s boots had the magic as he nailed in a total of 10 points off two early penalties before converting Maxwell Kangeri and Abel Matanda’s tries.
Hector is glad his week-long preparations for the brutal encounter paid off as Kabras were unable to absorb the heat, seeing his team score two crucial converted tries for the win.
“We wanted to dominate the scrum downs because we felt that has been working well for us even in our match against KCB. We spent a lot of time working on the breakdowns efficiency,” said Hector.
He added: “Kabras had a lot of the ball but we managed to disrupt them and it was fortunate for them to get a lot injuries and that gave us confidence as we capitalised on that.”
The loss leaves Kabras top of the 12-team standings but with just a one-point lead over second-placed KCB, who beat Impala 15-5, and Homeboyz who are third with 33 points, leaving captain Brian Tanga with a lot to ponder.
“The match did not go as we expected but I think we tried our best. We were trailing 13-3 at half-time and we lost our heads in the second half. We made errors and some wrong decisions which cost us the chance to score,” said Tanga.
KCB meanwhile, managed four priceless points at home courtesy of another nervy win at Ruaraka and coach Dennis Mwanja now believes the title race is a three-horse affair following Kabras’ loss.
“No one imagined Kabras would lose but we knew Homeboyz had answers for them so we can’t say a playoff is a guarantee for us,” Mwanja told People Sport.
