Kenya women hockey team bags third victory
Tracy Karanja trains with the national women’s hockey team at City Park Stadium on February 7, 2015. The national women’s hockey team thrashed Tanzania 5-0 to record their third straight win at the ongoing 2015 Africa Cup of Nations cum 2016 Rio Olympic qualifiers in Johannesburg. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The women’s team thrashed Tanzania 5-0 to record their third straight win at the tournament while the men’s team lost 4-1 to Egypt in their second Pool ‘B’ match played at the Randburg Stadium.
- Ghana are second also on nine points from three games while South Africa are third with six points from two games.
The Kenya national women's hockey team thrashed Tanzania 5-0 to record their third straight win at the ongoing 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, played at Randburg Stadium.
The 5-0 win was enough to take the Kenyan women to the top of the table with nine points ahead of Ghana, thanks to a superior goal difference.
The men’s team, on the other hand, lost 4-1 to Egypt in their second Pool ‘B’ match.
The Kenya’s hockey teams Tuesday recorded the mixed results in the ongoing 2015 Africa Cup of Nations cum 2016 Rio Olympic qualifiers in Johannesburg.
The women's team made a lively start to the match they controlled throughout, scoring goals in the fifth and eighth minutes through Betsy Ommala and Yvonne Karanja before Anne Juma made it 3-0 early in the second quarter.
Audrey Omaido and Caroline Guchu netted penalty corners in the third quarter to send Kenya top of the pool.
It was Omaido’s third goal in three games as the team kept its Olympics dream alive.
Strathmore University Scorpions’ Karanja and Telkom Orange’s Juma justified their inclusion in the team, scoring their first international goals to the delight of coach Jos Openda who made a number of changes to the starting team.
TOUGH GAME AHEAD
Kenyan skipper Tracy Karanja was happy with the spirit and determination of her team mates, but warned that stern tests lie ahead when the team takes on defending champions South Africa and silver medallists Ghana.
“So far so good, we have played three and won three, the confidence grows with each game and our dream is still alive. We want to make it a reality,” Karanja told Daily Nation Sport on phone on Tuesday.
The team’s next match is against hosts South Africa Thursday in what should be a cracking tie.
Ghana are second also on nine points from three games while South Africa are third with six points from two games.
The women’s competition is been played in a round-robin format.
Kenyan men failed to end their poor record against Egpyt as they fell four goals behind inside the opening 49 minutes.
