National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) coach Brian Mathews’ target is to dominate the local scene as the Kenya Handball Federation (KHF) league resumes this weekend.
“We have already started our training and so far everything looks good ahead of the league resumption. Our focus is to finish at the top,” said Mathews.
NCPB women’s team, who are second behind champions and leaders Nairobi Water Queens with 22 points, have a clash against tenth-placed New Hope next weekend.
“This will be our first game since we returned from the regional championships in Zanzibar in December and we are ready,” said Mathews.
However, the men’s side, the national and regional champions, do not have a league assignment in the opening two weeks.
The SJAK/StarTimes coach for the month of December 2022 maintained that he has his eyes in making the ladies team a dominant force once again.
“My target is to return the team to the top. But we will have to work extremely hard to shake off Nairobi Water and Ulinzi Sharks,” added Mathews.
He draws some hope from his team’s 25-21 loss to rivals Nairobi Water Queens in the regional final played in the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar.
“This is the closest we have gone close to an upset. At one stage late in the game, we made it a one-goal match and this gives us a lot of confidence,” said Mathews. “To have three teams or more battling for honours shows there is good competition. And this is good for the sport.”
The tactician, who also guided NCPB men’s side to a third-place finish in the Sports Team of the year during the Sports Personality of the Year Awards, has his hands full.
NCPB men are perched at the top of the 17-team standings with 30 points from 15 games. Ulinzi are second with 28 points followed by Black Mamba (24), General Service Unit (22) and Strathmore University (20).
