National men’s hockey team will face Nigeria as International Hockey Federation World League One tournament begins today at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium in Accra, Ghana.
Kenyans will be seeking a ticket to the next round of the World League Series. Victory in the Ghana tournament will also guarantee them a ticket to the 2018 World Cup in India.
Kenya finished second behind Egypt during the 2014 World League One and are favourites to grab the ticket in this year's contest. They will play hosts Ghana and Namibia.
Kenyans will be keen to pick up from where they left against Nigeria when the two sides meet. Kenya won 3-1 in last year’s Africa Cup of Nations-cum-Olympics qualifiers in South Africa.
Nonetheless, Kenya’s past exploits against the West Africans will count for nothing, according to the team's coach.
“We have to forget about our last win against them (Nigeria) because this is a totally different day and competition," head coach Meshack Senge said. "Of course, we want a repeat performance and we will go full throttle because we can’t afford to take chances.”
Newly appointed national team captain George Mutira is leading the Kenyan side that has been overhauled and now has new players, with most of them making their international debut. Mutira is one of the six players in the entire squad of 18, who featured for in last year's Kenya-Nigeria match.
According to Mutira, they will try to match the Nigerians in all aspects of the game because they are familiar with their style of play.
“Nigerians usually play a physical game, therefore we need to be at our best, as we seek continue with our winning streak against them. A win in our opening tie is crucial and more so, when we are playing in a round-robin format, which makes every point count,” Mutira said.
Mutira, who is a Chase Sailors forward, will spear-head the attack and will be assisted by Strathmore Gladiator’s Festus Onyango. Nevile Mulupi, together with Willis Okeyo, is expected to call shots in the midfield, while Sammy Oungo and Maxwell Fuchaka will seek to be stoic in defence.
Kenya's women's team, winners of the 2014 challenge, will have a rest day and will play tomorrow against Nigeria, before winding up their business against hosts, Ghana, whom they beat 1-0 in the previous contest.
