Butali Sugar take on Bay Club in hockey tie

Chase Sailors Nixon Amadi(l) challenges Bay club player Anthony Alodwa when they played Men National Finals at City park, on 01/05/16 PHOTO; JENIPHER WACHIE

Men’s hockey premier league champions Butali Sugar Warriors take on Bay Club tomorrow in one of the ten Kenya Hockey Union matches on the card this weekend.

A win for Warriors will assure them of a Pool A playoffs slot while a loss for Bay will rule them out of contention for the title.

Warriors who are seeking to retain their gong with an unbeaten record will go full throttle in a bid to secure their fifth win of the season.

Butali coach Cliffe Okello said that they are not just eyeing victory against Bay, but also using the tie and all their remaining league meetings to prepare for the club championships that the country is seeking to host in 2017.

“There is a lot going for us in the remaining matches because it’s not just about the league title, but we are also readying ourselves for the club championships.

"We intend to make the best out of this match,” Okello said.

Warriors go into the match as favourites having beaten Bay in all their previous meetings.

In another Group A tie, two-time champions Strathmore University Gladiators will play Nakuru who will be hoping to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointment when they suffered double defeat to Butali and Parklands.

In Pool B, top contenders Greensharks and Kenya College of Accountancy University will lock horns in a battle to break away from the rest.

In another Group B tie, debutants Chase Sailors take on Wazalendo in a quest to extend their unbeaten run and increase their chances of making it to the last four.

Group B is tightly contested with four teams, Kenya Police, KCAU, Greensharks and Chase Sailors tied on seven points.