Struggling Kenya Cup sides Western Bulls and Kisumu RFC will go head to head on Saturday in what has been dubbed as 'Mashemeji Derby'.as both teams seek their second wins of the season.
Kisumu coach Brian Makalama and his Western Bulls counterpart Obi Solo said they expect a tough duel at the Bull Ring in Kakamega. The two coaches are looking to secure their Kenya Cup status.
“Playing against Kisumu is always a tough and technical match. We hope to put up a good fight,” said Solo who is the acting head coach.
Reflecting on their Kenya Cup campaign so far, Solo, a former Bulls player, added: “It has been a tough ride but we hope to bounce back from the four loses in five games. We have been making costly errors in the first 10 minutes but we hope to do things differently this time around.”
Makalama said he expects his side to compete for maximum points this weekend. “We are not going to take anything for granted against Mashemeji. We need to improve in consistency, pitch leadership and communication,” added former Uganda Under-18 coach.
Makalama said he hopes to sign a hooker, fly-half and full back in the mid-season transfer window. “We don't have depth in the three areas and we hope to bolster the team by signing about five young players,” noted Makalama.
Kisumu's only win of the season was against Nondescripts at Mamboleo Agricultural Society of Kenya showground while Bulls had a 21-19 victory against Kenya Harlequins. Kisumu are bottom of the table with four points while Bulls are eleventh with five points.
If last year's results are anything to go by, Kisumu are clear favourites to win the game. In the first KRU Championship game, the teams drew 8-8 at Nyang'ori High while in the return leg, hosts Kisumu narrowly edged Bulls 7-8 In the KRU Championship final, Kisumu thumped Bulls 23-5.
