Fireworks are expected this weekend when top guns clash in one of the most epic weekends of the handball league at the Nyayo National Stadium handball court, Nairobi..
Already, four teams are in the mix for the men’s league title that is expected to go down to the wire and all are leaving nothing to chance as they jostle for the title.
And even as the league culminates, newbies Equity have sent a warning to title rivals Ulinzi, signaling their intention of going for a win and nothing less when the two sides clash in a highly anticipated match in the penultimate leg of the Kenya Handball Federation men’s league on Saturday.
Equity head coach Peter Mwathi has rallied his boys to go guns blazing against the league leaders, to keep their title hopes after giving away an important point to defending champions National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) in last weekend’s outing.
The bankers saw a crunch 29-28 win slip in their hands at the death-bed when Chekai dodged past Equity shot-stopper Teddy Sidai to nick in an equalizer for NCPB, securing an important point for the Cereals who remain unbeaten.
“We’ve studied how Ulinzi play and we know how we will deal with them. They have two deadly attackers and we’ll be keen to stop them and also hurt them when they make mistakes.”
The veteran tactician who also doubles up as the national team head coach says he’s ready to counter the Soldiers’ physicality and outwit them.
“We’ve worked a lot on our fitness with the help of our strength and conditioning coach to match their physicality. But then again you have to be intelligent against such sides to outwit them and that’s exactly what we will do,” noted Mwathi.
Reigning champions NCPB are also penciled to clash with fourth placed General Service Unit (GSU) in another mouth-watering clash on Saturday before meeting minnows JKUAT on Sunday.
NCPB’s head coach Bryan Matthews knows there should be no room for error in their quest for the title defense.
Ulinzi top the league standings on 43 points while NCPB are second on the log on 41 points, level with Equity who have played a game less. GSU are fourth on 40 points.
An epic showdown is also expected in the women’s league when league leaders and defending champions Nairobi Water clash with second placed Ulinzi Sharks.
Ulinzi Sharks who are two points behind the league leaders are aiming to stop the title holders from bagging their record twelfth consecutive title, and knowing it is within their reach, they will be going full throttle to stop Water Queens’ dominance.
