Three walkovers suffered by Makueni Bees at the start of the Kenya Handball Federation (KHF) league have affected their overall placing on the table.
However, coach Juma Gerald is convinced his side comprising school boys from Mbooni High, has shown character in the games played so far and he expects them to climb up the ladder with time.
“The three walkovers we suffered earlier in the season really cost us. However, we are determined to show progress and the way we are performing, we should be ok,” noted Juma.
Makueni, who have so far played nine games, are eighth on the 17-team log having bagged eight points, scored 191 goals and conceded 238.
They lost three opening games with a similar margin of 15-0 to champions National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Jkuat) and runners-up Strathmore University.
“We were unable to honour our opening three matches because of logistics. Had we played, I am sure we would be up the table. But all is not lost as we are working hard to make up for the lost points,” he opined.
Over the weekend, the schoolboys posted mixed results in their two games, beating Technical University of Kenya (TUK) 33-30 before going down 39-24 to Black Mamba, who were placed third in last year’s title race.
“We played the two fixtures without my two key players who were injured during our zonal school games. Without their services, the boys lacked confidence and really struggled for rhythm.”
He went on, “We did well to beat TUK, but did not give our best shot against Black Mamba. The boys just went out to play but they did not show much effort in that fixture.”
Juma said playing in the national league has made his boys a much better team in the county and the exposure will come in handy during the school games. The other school team is Hospital Hill's Inspired. Bees also stung Rangers 36-34 and Young City 32-25.
