Onyango at the double as Butali down Badgers
Butali Sugar Warriors' Francis Kariuki in action during their Kenya Hockey Union men's Premier League match against Kenya Police at the City Park stadium in Nairobi on March 26, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Their resilience was broken after the breather as Onyango scored in 38th minute following good build up from Shama Ademba in midfield.
- Badgers bagged three penalty corners, but they failed to convert before Onyango sprang up and curled the ball in the 48th minute with Badgers goal keeper Allan Agesa doing little to stop it.
National team player Festus Onyango bagged a brace as reigning champions Butali Sugar Warriors defeated Parkroad Badgers 2-0 in their men’s Kenya Hockey Union Premier League match at the City Park Stadium in Nairobi Sunday evening.
The win saw Butali extend their unbeaten run to three matches and also saw the return of coach Zack Aura to pitch.
Aura had hanged the boots at the end of 2019 season and was named Butali coach last year. Onyango scored in the 38th and 48th minutes through field goals.
In the earlier match played at the same venue, Western Jaguars stunned Kenya Police 2-1 in another men's Premier League tie.
It was the perfect response from Jaguars, who had started their season on the wrong footing, losing 3-0 to Sailors on Saturday at the same venue.The development saw Police suffer their first loss of the season in three matches.
Butali Team Manager Victor Opere conceded it was a tough win.
“It was a great improvement from last week where we played to a 2-2 draw against Kenya Police. We need to work on our conversion. Our game plan of holding the ball and scoring if chances came our way worked and we are happy we collected three points,” said Opere.
Badgers coach Evason Alulu said the league is still open for anyone to win, despite losing their second match of the season.
“We controlled the ball for the better part of the match, but we crumbled in the second half and let go. We have a good squad and our system of play is working so far, but with reservation on scoring and I guess it’s just a matter of time before we start recording wins,” offered Alulu.
Badgers, who suffered a 1-3 loss to Greensharks in their first match, put up a spirited show as they held the champions to a barren draw at half time.
Their resilience was broken after the breather as Onyango scored in 38th minute following good build up from Shama Ademba in midfield.
Badgers bagged three penalty corners, but they failed to convert before Onyango sprang up and curled the ball in the 48th minute with Badgers goal keeper Allan Agesa doing little to stop it.
