Kenya’s Under-18 teams produced a memorable campaign at the inaugural Africa Youth Cup Hockey5s, with the boys winning the title and the girls finishing runners-up at Dashmesh Stadium, Sikh Union Club, Nairobi on Saturday.
Held from August 6-8, the three-day tournament also saw both Kenyan sides secure qualification for the inaugural Youth Hockey5s World Cup in Egypt in December.
The boys completed a perfect tournament by stunning South Africa 6-5 in a dramatic final.
Captain Kelvine Onyango was the hero, scoring four goals, while Meshack Reagan and Caleb Korir contributed one each.
Onyango put Kenya 2-0 up before South Africa responded with goals from Blaine Candy and Zacharee McLean to make it 2-2. Reagan restored Kenya’s lead, but South Africa moved 5-3 ahead through Pongwana Ndyebo, Carolus Jay Dee and Keegan Le Roux.
Onyango then struck twice to level the contest at 5-5 before Korir scored the winning goal with nine minutes remaining.
Onyango, who was named the men’s Player of the Tournament, finished as the best scorer with 12 goals.
Kenya had earlier thumped Uganda 17-4 in their final group match, with Onyango, Korir, Daniel Omondi, Reagan and Peter Awot scoring three goals each. Godfrey Fedha and Kerry Lusweti added one goal apiece.
The girls, meanwhile, had to settle for silver after going down 11-6 to South Africa in the final.
South Africa raced into a 9-1 lead, with Kenya’s lone goal in that spell coming from Virginia Mogeni. The hosts then reduced the deficit to 9-2 through Mishel Awino just before halftime.
Kenya mounted a spirited second-half comeback as Laura Kadogo scored once before Valary Imisa netted twice to make it 9-5. South Africa replied through Addison Van Der Byl and Martina Jonker before Kadogo scored in the final second.
Kenya’s scorers in the final were Kadogo (two), Imisa (two), Mogeni (one) and Awino (one).
Coach Barbara Simiyu’s team had reached the final after stunning Nigeria 10-6 in a decisive group match. Audrie Grener scored twice, Kadogo three times, Imisa four times and Marina McRae once.
The victory lifted Kenya to nine points, level with Nigeria and South Africa, but the hosts advanced in second place behind South Africa on goal difference.
Kenya had opened with a 5-3 defeat to South Africa before responding with convincing wins over Uganda and Ghana. Against Uganda, Audrey Grener scored four goals, Imisa two and McRae one in a 7-0 victory, while Kenya beat Ghana 10-2.
Nigeria’s Ifeoluwa Olaitan scored four against Kenya, with Zainab Akeem and Alimah Isihaq also finding the net. Olaitan finished the tournament as top scorer with 14 goals.
Simiyu said her players struggled to settle early in the final, but showed character as the match progressed.
She added that the team would work on starting matches faster and improving their finishing before the World Cup, adding that Grener and Imisa stood out for their scoring contributions.
Men’s coach Kevin Lugalia described Kenya’s unbeaten championship-winning campaign as a remarkable achievement, attributing the success to careful player selection, regular training and support from the Kenya Hockey Union and Ministry of Sports.
“We started from scratch, put this team together and now here we are winning the Africa Cup and qualifying for the World Cup,” said Lugalia.
He added that the team would focus on intensive training while improving its goalkeeping, defence, structure and attacking play ahead of the World Cup.
Overall coach Griffin Okombe noted that the tournament had exposed the abundance of talent available across Kenya after extensive grassroots scouting.
With both teams now qualified for the global showpiece, Kenya will turn its attention to preparations for the December tournament in Egypt.
