Defending champions Black Mamba were knocked out of this year’s Kenya Handball Federation Super Cup after a shock 22-20 loss to Kenya Defence Forces’ men’s side, Ulinzi at Nyayo Stadium over the weekend.
Nicholas Ireri scored seven goals to inspire the soldiers to their remarkable win and even Paul Ondara’s six and Innocent Onyango’s five goals for Mamba couldn’t help secure a win for the tournament favourites.
Speaking with Standard Sports, Ulinzi coach Kaviti Nyaga said confidence and resilience helped them in winning the match.
“We were very determined and committed everything towards this game and I am happy we came out victorious. This shows that we have improved a lot and I believe we can go all the way andwin the title,” Nyaga said.
His counterpart Martin Abunde rued missed chances in the match, but promised to come back stronger when the league resumes.
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“We played our best but we were not lucky. We missed a lot of chances during the match. However, it’s a lesson to us and now we have to go back to the drawing board and ensure we come back stronger,” he said.
KDF will now face National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB-men) in the finals after they edged out last year finalists Strathmore 23-13.
Earlier on the same day, Black Mamba edged out Tigers 39-28 to book their semis slot as KDF beat Rangers 36-30 in their final group matches.
The results now place KDF’s two teams, both in men and women categories, in this year’s finals raising the possibility of the soldiers winning this year’s titles.
The finals are slated for July 6.
