Handball giants clash in league title deciding matches

Former women’s league champions Nairobi Water face holders Ulinzi Sharks while men’s league champions National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) take on Ulinzi, with both matches slated on Sunday.

Nairobi Water's head coach Jack Ochieng is confident they will edge out Ulinzi in the title race as they seek to regain their stranglehold in the league.

“The match will definitely decide who will lift the league title this year. We have prepared well for the game and we are going all out to ensure we win,” Ochieng told Citizen Digital.

The Water Queens will be eying a revenge against the Soldiers, who beat them at the death last season to clinch their first league title.

Ochieng will have to do without some of his key players as they nurse injuries while others are out for personal reasons.

Captain Gladys Chilo and Jane Waithera are out on maternity leave while Michelle Adhiambo remains on the sidelines.

Ochieng says the same thing cost him the title last season but this time he has players who he believes will fill in the gap and produce an impressive shift.

“Missing key players last season led to our loss, a situation we still have to face this season so I have to use the players at my disposal. I believe in the crop of players that I have and I'm confident they’ll  still do the job,” said Ochieng.

Both teams remain unbeaten with Nairobi Water topping the log on 26 points having played two matches more than Ulinzi Sharks who remain second on 22 points.

NCPB’s head coach Bryan Matthews is also targeting Ulinzi’s scalp as he aims at defending their title.

Matthews knows he has to win the tie before facing another title rival Equity in the final fixture of the season in an also a must win game.

He is however confident his side will reign supreme.

“We have two difficult games in waiting and we have to be on top of our game to win them. We want to win against Ulinzi before handling Equity and we are going all out for two points.”

The Cereals left it late last season to beat Ulinzi 30-25 in the topsy-turvy affair thaT was determined in extra play and are aware of the threat the soldiers pause.

They currently lead the log on 44 points, two ahead of Equity who have a game in hand. Ulinzi comes third on 38 points after 20 matches.