USIU Martials coach Tom Lagat says returning to Kenya Cup is their bare minimum as they prepare to take on Northern Suburbs Cubs in a KRU Championship quarter-final match on Saturday.
“We have a chance of returning to Kenya Cup but we must overcome Suburbs on Saturday. Teams that normally qualify for Kenya Cup are those that finish from position three to six in the regular season. If we beat Suburbs, we shall go into the semis as underdogs which is an advantage,” said Lagat.
Lagat said they have studied their opponent's strengths and weaknesses.
“We have analysed their game. They are dangerous in open play but we also have our strengths. The boys are ready for them. It is our time to return to Kenya Cup,” he added.
The tactician further noted that he has a full squad and expects home advantage to spur his charges. During the regular season, USIU needed a last-minute penalty try to beat Suburbs 21-15.
His Suburbs counterpart Simon Jawichire is happy that they met their target of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
“Now that we are in the quarter-finals, our focus is to win. I expect a very technical game against USIU because we know how they play and they know our format too,” said Jawichire.
“The advantage is we have not played for two weeks but I will assess the players in the course of the week.”
The winner of the encounter will play Strathmore Leos in Madaraka in the semi-finals.
The other quarter-final game will be between Mean Machine and Egerton University Wasps at the University of Nairobi grounds where winners will meet Masinde Murilo University of Science and Technology (MMUST) in the semi-finals in Kakamega.
Finalists will book an automatic place to Kenya Cup where they will replace relegated Western Bulls and Kisumu RFC.
