Ng'iya Girls eyes national glory in hockey

Ng'iya Girls celebrate after lifting the Nyanza region hockey title at Maseno School/ANGWENYI GICHANA

Nyanza region hockey champions Ng’iya Girls have vowed to wrestle the national title from Tigoi Girls during the Brookside Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) Term One Games in Kisumu.  

Ng’iya Girls have lifted the Nyanza region twice, overcoming the former Federation of East Africa Schools Sports Association (FEASSA) and national champions, Nyamira Girls, at the Siaya County and Nyanza regional levels.

The hockey competition will be held at Kisumu Day during the national extravaganza, which will run from April 5 to 11. Coach Oduor Nyadida says, being their second time at the national showpiece, they are ready to push for the title. Last year, Ng’iya bagged bronze medals during the national and FEASSA Championships.

“We are ready for the championship. Expect Ng’iya Girls to contest for the trophy. Our target is the title, unlike last year when our target was qualifying for FEASSA games,” said Nyadida.

He added, “Since the regionals, we have been working on our defence and set pieces. We got several set pieces during the regional final, but we didn’t score.”

Ng’iya Girls, popularly known as the Rock Jaguars, have been grouped in Pool ‘A’ alongside M-Pesa Academy, Mwiki Girls, and AIC Nyayo.

“It’s a balanced pool. We have tough and tactical teams in our pool. It won't be easy, but we aim to top the group,” said Nyadida.

He, however, noted that fireworks are expected in the semi-finals where seasoned teams like FEASSA champions St Joseph’s Girls, Kitale, Tigoi and Nyamira are expected to prevail from pool ‘B’.

Nyamira are in the group of death, which also features Rift Valley powerhouses St Joseph’s Kitale, Coast region’s St Charles Lwanga, and defending national champions Tigoi.

In the boys’ category, Kisumu County champions Kisumu Day, coached by Booker Odhiambo, is in Pool A together with Alliance High, St Anthony’s Kitale, and Mbooni High.

Pool ‘B’ has been dubbed the group of death, which has former Nyanza champions Our Lady of Mercy Ringa Boys, Nairobi’s Hospital Hill High, newly crowned Western region champions Friends School Kamusinga, and St Charles Lwanga.

Friends School Kamusinga, the 12-time national champions, are making a comeback to the nationals after three years in the cold. During the period, Musingu High dominated the Western region and nationals, bagging the titles for three consecutive years.

Kamusinga ended their dominance after a 3-1 win on penalty flicks during the Western region championships held at Chavakali High School. The teams drew 1-1 after extra time.