Kenya Police edged Western Jaguars 2-1 in Kenya Hockey Union men’s Premier League match at City Park Stadium on Sunday.
Robert Masibo and experienced Moses Cheplaiti scored for Police in the 15th and 47th minutes respectively while Ivan Ludiali replied for the visitors in the 38th.
The win saw Police dislodge Greensharks from third place with 21 points, 12 behind leaders Butali Sugar Warriors.
Kenya Police captain Oliver Echenje conceded that reclaiming the title they last won in 2017 is beyond them.
“We will be lying to ourselves if we say we are going for the title. The trophy is for Butali to lose but this is hockey and anything can happen. We will continue to push as our aspiration going forward is to ensure we finish at least second,” said Echenje.
He added: “It was a good match although we expected to score many goals but it was not the case. We lost many scoring chances and we will have to better ourselves in that department in the remaining fixtures.”
Western Jaguars will return home empty handed having also lost 3-0 to Wazalendo on Saturday but coach Mike Malungu said they have picked a lot of positives from the two matches. Malungu sought consolation in the fact that his side is relatively young with an average age of 22.
“At the end of it all we lost six points. We need to work on scoring to finish in top four. Our five remaining matches against United States International University Africa, Strathmore University, Butali, Chase Sailors and Nairobi Sikh are tough and we have no choice but to put up a good performance,” said Malungu.
Both sides tested each other in the early exchanges but it was Police who drew first blood thanks to Masibo’s penalty corner in the 15th minute.
Western Jaguars could have equalized in the 29th minute but Kevin Mashigi’s shot went wide to end the first half on a high.
On resumption, the visitors picked from where they left and their efforts paid off when Ludiali scored through a fantastic filed goal in the 38th minute to level the scores.
Jaguars was the better side in the first quarter of the second half but failed to convert. They were later punished when Cheplaiti sounded the board in the 47th minute to hand Police maximum points.