Butali on Sunday, January 29, were crowned the 2022 Kenya Hockey Union Premier League champions alongside Strathmore Scorpions who won the ladies’ side. This gave the two teams an automatic slot to the continental show. Kenya Police (men) and Blazers (women) will be joining the champions for the championship.
“There is a lot to work on in matters of fitness, game management and many other aspects incase we want to achieve anything in the championship. This not only applies to us but also other teams,” Sembi said.
He added: “Two weeks is a short time but we need to shift gears. We are going to compete with the likes of Egyptians and Nigerians.”
Butali lost to Police 0-1 in their Sunday clash and Sembi noted that they had so many chances but they could not utilise them.
“We missed a lot of chances…some selfishness upfront also cost us a score. We got like eight short corners and we couldn’t convert. Going forward, that’s something we need to work on. The heat was also on our case. But overall, I think we played well,” he said.
He also noted that they had really wanted to end their season unbeaten but unfortunately Police made it impossible. “Our most important goal was to win the league, which we did,” he added.
Meanwhile, Strathmore Scorpions and Gladiators coach Meshack Senge expressed his excitement towards bagging the coveted title. He termed the win as a great achievement which saw them end the season unbeaten with only one draw.
“We managed to meet our objective. We are happy that we didn’t lose a match and we are happy with the result. We have made history as the first University to win the ladies’ title,” Senge said.
He added that he was happy with his achievement as a coach, to win both the men’s and women’s league. The men won the league in 2016. Senge said his team is young and inexperienced and having proper structures are what worked for them.
“We lack the advantage of experience because I have young players. We depended on our structures and discipline and this has paid off well,” he said.
Going forward, he said they will be hoping to build on our momentum in the Club Championships and see if they can do better than the previous time.