Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) women’s Premier League side Kenyatta University Titans have vowed to win the varsity derbies in a bid to evade relegation.
The Titans, who are ranked seventh in the eight-team league, have three points and play against Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) on October 6 and United States International University USIU-A Spartans in the ultimate match of the season on November 24. They also have pending matches against Sailors and Telkom.
The students received a major boost following a 2-2 all draw against fellow newbies Lakers at Kisumu on Saturday. Lakers have put teams to the sword at their backyard including champions Telkom, who needed a last-minute goal to salvage a point.
Prior to the Lakers match, KU had lost their last six matches—scoring once and conceding 14 goals. Titans take heart from the outcome and with the players back in full training following a long holiday, coach Clifford Nyangwara is confident of salvaging their position in the top tier.
“It was unbelievable to get a point at a difficult venue and we could have even won the match. The goals were a relief to us having not scored in the past five matches. With the team back to full strength, we can put up a fight and hopefully win the derbies. There’s remarkable improvement in the past one week or so. I believe we can get a result when we play Sailors as well. Attacking wise, the girls now look sharper and they will score more goals.”
As Titans flirt with relegation, debutants Lakers are safe and sit comfortably in fifth position with 11 points with four matches remaining.
