Nondescripts defeat opponents as Kenya Cup takes break till January

By BS MULAVI

KENYA: Kenya Harlequins bounced back to winning ways in Kenya Cup league with a hard fought 27-12 victory over Impala at the RFUEA grounds yesterday.

Despite the margin score between the two teams at the final whistle, Impala at one point of the game gave the former champions a run for their money, to the point that the hosts were actually trailing 12-5  by half time.

Speaking to FeverPitch after the game, Quins head coach Enos Otieno said they never doubted for even one minute that they would lose the match.

According to the former Kenya International, they were always expecting a bonus point from this fixture even though they knew the game would be quite challenging.

“When teams know they are coming to play a Harlequin, they usually give it their best shot, and we are now getting used to that,” he said.

“For Impala it was twice the intensity, given that this is a derby and we share quite a bit of history,” Otieno added.

“Impala came quite hard at us, but we eventually composed ourselves and identified the areas we wanted to attack and in the end it finally paid off.”

Otieno felt that there were quite a number of mismatches in the game, with the Impala forwards getting themselves in the wrong position directly against the Harlequin backs.

Even though Impala held out for two- thirds of the game, they gave in the last third and Quins took advantage to score three vital tries that gave them a bonus point victory and send them to the Christmas break on a high.

Otieno, however has claimed they will not seat around and just wait for the second half of the league, but they will instead continue to train hard as they expect the coming year to be even tougher as the league continues to take shape and teams race for a place in the semi-finals.

Impala on the other hand remain optimistic that their new year will be better given that they will be welcoming back most of their senior players from injury.

According to club chairman Oduor Gangla, the worst is behind them and the 2014 will offer some great news for the club.

“We have had a rough patch with injuries, which is quite unfortunate, but the good thing is that the players will be back after the break and not only will we have good news on the pitch, but we are also looking at a new corporate partnership off the pitch, that will make Impala the club to look out for,” he added.