Impala take on Ghana Trustees in Heroes Memorial tourney
What you need to know:
- The winning teams will receive Sh50,000 with the runners-up expected to pocket Sh30,000.
After failing to secure promotion to the Kenya Hockey Union men’s Premier League, Impala Club will be seeking redemption in the Heroes Memorial Tournament which gets underway Thursday evening at the City Park Stadium.
Impala take on Ghana Trustees at 6pm in a Pool A opener as they look for a good start in the four-day competition. In another match, 2012 league champions Sikh Union Nairobi will be against Wazalendo Youth in a Pool B encounter.
Impala, who finished fourth in the second tier men’s league, will be wary of the Trustees who are the only foreign club in the second edition of the competition which has attracted 12 men’s and four women teams.
Impala coach Amwai Olubai believes his charges will get a lot of exposure against their West African opponents and has called on his charges not to be intimidated.
“It has been a long season for us but we want to win this competition and put the disappointment of failing to qualify for the top flight behind us,” Olubai told Daily Nation Sport.
Leading scorer Rono Kigen, who scored seven goals for the club this season, will lead the team’s forward line as they seek a good start in the competition.
Trustees on the other hand are using the competition to prepare for the Africa Club Championship that will be staged at the same venue from January 7-15.
The Ghanaian side warmed up for the tourney with a 6-2 thrashing of United Sates International University of Africa (USIU-A) men’s team in build-up match at City Park Stadium on Wednesday.
The third team in the Pool, Wazalendo Academy will not be in action until Friday.
In Pool B, Sikh Union will also be looking to put a troubled campaign behind them as they look to end the year on a high. The former league champions will however need to be wary of a Wazalendo Youth side that had a good season in the second tier league securing promotion to next season’s top flight.
Sikh captain Amit Rajput is confident that his team will go far in the competition but has cautioned against complacency.
“We have not had a good season and this competition give us the chance to redeem ourselves and hopefully build for next season,” he said.
The top two teams in the four men’s pools will advance to the quarter-finals. The women’s team has attracted four teams - Telkom Orange, Orange Rovers, Sliders and Development side. They will play in a round-robin format.
The winning teams will receive Sh50,000 with the runners-up expected to pocket Sh30,000.
FIXTURES
Thursday
Pool A – Trustees Ghana v Impala – 6pm
Pool B – Sikh Union v Wazalendo Youth – 7pm
