Hockey: Parklands lecture USIU-A at City Park

USIU Lawrence Makhaya(l) fights for the ball with Parkroad Frank Ogendi when they played Men Premier league at City Park. ON 12/05/2018(Jenipher Wachie, Standard)

Novices Leonas send early warning to opponents

Parklands give USIU students important lecture at City Park

Eying top scorers award, Strathmore’s Okumu nets five goals as the 2019 KHU league season begins.

The chase for the 2019 Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) titles began at the weekend with nine matches lined up across five leagues. 

Of the nine, seven resulted in victories while two ended in draws.

In men’s Premier League match, Parklands rallied from a goal down to beat United States International University of Africa (USIU-A) 3-2 and bag maximum points.

Brian Kipkorir put the students ahead with a ninth minute strike but Allan Odongo levelled matters seconds to the end of the first quarter. 

Dan Onyango and Erick Kidwaro netted in the 25th and 44th minutes to give Parklands a 3-1 lead going into the final quarter.

Neville Mulupi pulled one back for USIU-A in the 58th minute but it was a little too late for them to add another goal and salvage a point as Parklands defended well to snatch victory. 

Men’s Premier League champions Butali Sugar Warriors, who were on a shopping spree buying the best talent during the transfer window, will launch their title defence on March 17 against promoted Sailors.

Butali raided Kenya Police’s camp for the services of prolific strikers Amos Barkibir and Calvins Kanu.

They also signed Francis Kariuki from Strathmore University, Moses Ademba from Multimedia University and Arif Shah returns to the club after a short stint at Nairobi Sikh Union. 

In the women’s Premier League, Strathmore Scorpions had a dream start to the season after clobbering Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) 9-0.

Gilly Okumu was on fire netting five goals to set her quest for the season’s top scorer’s award on course.

Ranked as one of the best strikers in the country, the former Sinyolo Girls student came close to winning the award but was outshone by Telkom veteran Jackline Mwangi. 

Okumu will also be looking to make it as Kenya’s first choice striker in the forthcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Africa qualifiers later in the year.

Relegated Vikings also began their Super League title chase on a high with a 5-0 win over Multimedia University.

Multimedia then lost to newcomers Oranje Leonas, who were out to prove that they are no pushovers. 

Kenya College of Accountancy University (KCAU) suffered heartbreak as their return to the Premier League campaign began with a 3-0 beating by Parkroad Badgers.