Nairobi — Kenyan teams posted mixed results on the opening day of the International Handball Federation (IHF) Trophy Tournament at the Ulinzi Complex and Nyayo Stadium on Tuesday.
The Junior (Under-20 side lost 25-28 to Burundi at the Ulinzi Complex while the Under-18 side picked a massive 59-11 victory over minnows Djibouti at the Nyayo National Stadium Court.
At the Ulinzi Complex, the Kenyans were forced to defend deep for most of the game and were it not for goalkeeper Paul Opiyo’s antics in goal, the scoreline would have been wider.
Coach Theodosius Ongoro was disappointed with the result but remains optimistic they will improve.
“This was their first match in national team colors and I think there was some essence of stage fright. We didn’t play according to plan and as a team. They resorted to individual play which did not work well for us,” Ongoro said after the match.
He added; “We will need to go back to the drawing board and pick ourselves up. We have to win the next two matches in the group if we have to get to the knockout phases. What also didn’t work well for us was our efficiency infront of goal especially on penalties. We had chances which should have converted and that lowered our morale a lot.”
Charged on by the home fans, the Kenyan boys roared to an early 5-2 lead, but a hard fighting Burundi clawed back and tied the game at 6-6 forcing a timeout call from Ongoro.
The see saw game continued with the two sides exchanging leads with Burundi going to the break with a 15-14 lead.
In the second half, the see-saw nature of the tie continued, but it was the Kenyan keeper who ensured that the scoreline was fabourable as he pulled save after save.
With four minutes to play, Burundi put up a two-point gap as Kenya were caught flat out at the back and they ensured a three-goal buffer with 20 seconds to play, an unassailable lead that saw them bag the victory.
Meanwhile at the Nyayo Stadium, their Under-18 counterparts were peerless against Burundi as they led 26-2 at halftime and extended the one-way traffic to a 59-11 victory by the end of the game.
“I am very impressed with how we played today. This past week we had trained a lot on speedwork and accuracy in attack and that is why we had such a good game and scored so many goals. I am happy that we started the campaign with a win and it sets us up well for the tournament,” said Gerald Juma, the head coach of the Under-18 side.
He adds; “We still need to work a bit on our defence because we had some few blips. We will definitely face tougher matches ahead but we are ready.”
Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda are the other teams in the tournament.