TUK seek promotion to Premier League

The battle for promotion to next season’s Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) men’s Premier League takes center stage this weekend with five clubs in the running to claim the two available slots.

Technical University of Kenya (TUK) lead the second tier league with 21 points and will clinch promotion if they avoid defeat in their last two matches this weekend. The students face Daystar University on Saturday at City Park Stadium and a win will not only see them secure promotion, but also win them the national league.

TUK’s coach Collins Wadonderah has said that he will not change a winning side after his team’s impressive 4-1 win over Multimedia University last weekend move them closer to promotion.

“It is a significant weekend for us and we will not celebrate until we get the job done. These are two tricky matches but the ultimate goal is to ensure we secure promotion to next season’s top flight league,” Collins Wadonderah told Saturday Nation Sport.

Kelly Ingati will retain his position in goal while Nimrod Bitonga who has been effective in converting penalty corners will be expected to lead the forward line.

The students take on fourth placed Impala Club on Sunday in their final match of the season.

Impala need to win the match by a huge margin and hope other results go their way to secure the second spot.

The team lie fourth on 16 points ahead of their final fixture. Impala Club Coach Amwai Olubayi intends to have his team play with intensity and score early goals as they seek a crucial win over their rivals.

“It will be like a final for us and our concentration levels need to be up so that we can have a chance of winning and hopefully qualifying for the Premier League,” he said.

Second placed Wazalendo Youth, could also gain promotion this weekend if they beat Daystar in their final fixture on Sunday.

Wazalendo, who are on 19 points, will however need to win by a bigger margin so as to ensure they finish ahead of Multimedia University and Parkroad Tigers, both of whom are on 16 points, and have two matches left.

Multimedia University will be away to Kabarak while Tigers host Karate Axiom at City Park.

With the men’s Premier league play-offs set for next weekend, clubs that did not take reach the knockout stages will play classification matches.

Newcomers Chase Sailors take on Nakuru club to determine position five and six while Kenya College of Accountancy University (KCA-U) battle Parklands for the seventh and eight places.

Wazalendo and USIU-A will do battle for positon nine and ten. The 2016 season concludes next Sunday.

FIXTURES (All matches at City Park stadium unless stated)

Saturday

National men: TUK v Daystar University – 12pm, Kabarak University v Multimedia University – 2pm (Kabarak), Parkroad Tigers v Karate Axiom – 4pm

Premier women: JKUAT v Vikings – 2pm

Premier men: Wazalendo Youth v USIU-A – 6pm (Position 9&10)

Sunday

National men: Karate Axiom v JKUAT- 9am, TUK v Impala – 11am, Daystar v Wazalendo Youth – 3pm

Premier men: Chase Sailors v Nakuru – 1pm (Position 5&6), KCAU v Parklands - 5pm (Position 7&8)