Nairobi Water sink NCPB to close in on title

Nairobi Water women's team is one win away from retaining the East and Central Africa Handball Federation Clubs Championships (ECAHF) title after defeating arch-rivals National Cereals and Produce Board(NCPB) 28-23 at the Benjamin Mkapa indoor Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Thursday afternoon.

Nairobi Water had a slim 16-12 lead at half time in the closely contested match.

The national champions will play Kiziguro of Rwanda on Friday in their final match of the round robin competition that ends on Saturday.

Nairobi Water remain unbeaten in the five-team tournament having beaten
Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa(JKT) 42-20 and Ngome 28-16 in their ope

Gladys Chillo and Cecilia Kitheu scored eight goals each for winners while Brenda Ariviza added six.

NCPB's Sarah Mabonga led the scoring sheet with 10 goals with Purity Mwangi adding four.

Nairobi Water coach Jack Ochieng stated they have one hand on the title but cautioned the players to remain focused.

"It was a good match and I'm glad we carried the day. We will not be overconfident when we face Kiziguro because it's a side we have no knowledge about," said Ochieng.

NCPB will battle hosts JKT having recorded a 30-15 win over Ngome in their first match before losing to Nairobi Water.

"It was a tight match. We really gave our all and unfortunately our best was not good enough. We made unnecessary mistakes and we were punished. We have two more matches against JKL and Kiziguro and we hope to better our performance," said Mwangi.

In the other women's result played at the same venue, Kiziguro recorded their first win of the tournament after they defeated Ngome 27-21.

The Rwandese side had played to a 21-all draw against JKT on Wednesday.

Usawe Jean chalked five goals for winners as Amani Uronu emerged top scorer with five goals for losers.

In the meantime, it will be an all-Kenyan affair in one of the men's semifinal of the event on Friday.

Black Mamba, who finished second in pool 'B' with two points from two matches behind champions Rwanda Police who are unbeaten with four points, take on NCPB who topped pool 'A' with four points from two matches.

The other last four match will pit Rwanda Police against hosts Ngome.

Black Mamba forward Paul Ondara believes that it's a game that could go either way considering their last meeting where Cereals won 27-26 in the local league.