Daikyo Heroes HC put up a brilliant fight to register a fine 3-1 win over their arch-rivals Mvita XI during a thrilling Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) Super League match at Aryans ground in Mombasa on Thursday June 1, 2023.
Daikyo Heroes led 1-0 during the first quarter through Steve Nyasani’s goal before Samuel Webo equalised in the second quarter.
They made sure of victory with two goals both coming in the third quarter from captain Farhan Khan and Dennis Babasa.
Daikyo coach Ibrahim Ochieng, a former Kenya international, said he was very happy with his charges for beating their sworn rivals.
“The way my players played was an indication that they are serious about making an impact in the league. The victory against our opponents in the Coast derby is a morale booster for the team to play better in our next fixtures,” said Ochieng.
His Mvita XI counterpart Bill Olang said they lost the game by bad luck because his players missed a number of scoring opportunities. “We deserved to win the match but we accept defeat as it was our own mistake of missing many scoring chances,” said Olang.
During the game which had the crowd on their toes throughout, Daikyo got their goals through Nyasani, captain Khan and Babasa in the ninth, 21st and 45th minutes respectively with Mvita XI securing their consolation goal via Webo in the 17th minute.
Following the victory, Daikyo Heroes now have 11 points drawn from three wins and two draws while Mvita XI have four from one win, a draw and three losses.
Meanwhile, a squad of 20 players and officials of Blue Ocean Chiefs Hockey Club will travel to Nairobi to participate in the second edition of the Masters Nairobi Series at City Park next Saturday.
According to team manager Kasichana Iha, they are keen on improving their performance after finishing third in the first edition held in Kisumu.
“The team has been training under coach Obed Ototo and we hope with the captaincy of Bill Olang, we’ll do better and finish first or second place,” she said.
