Lynette Matheka @PeopleSport11
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) are keen to extend their stay at the helm of the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) men’s premier league when they face Administration Police(AP) and Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) today in the league’s fifth leg in Malaba, Busia County.
The dockers are currently top of the table at 15 points following five victories in their last six matches played. Just one of the five wins has been a clean sweep. Four have been 3-1 results, the same outcome they had in their only loss so far.
The side has played second fiddle to holders General Service Unit (GSU) and Kenya Prisons, finishing third in most of the playoffs. However, team manager Joel Kosgei says the technical team is keen to change that as they eye their maiden national title.
“We intend to win our matches today and extend our lead in the regular league even as we prepare for the playoffs where we have fallen short over the years.
We have a good record against AP and despite having struggled against KDF a few years back, we are ready for the two matches,” said Kosgei.
KDF are yet to drop points after four matches and are ranked third, tied at 12 points with holders GSU. On their part the AP officers are fourth at 12 points as well from four wins in six matches.
“Defence has been our biggest undoing in recent title campaigns. We have also struggled to hold on to leads and win sets.
The coach is doing a good job with the squad and we have worked on our weaknesses. I am confident this season we will fight for the title,” added Kosgei.
In other matches defending champions GSU are set to play AP in what could be their only match of the day as their second opponent Prisons Mombasa have been excluded from the weekend’s league action.
According to fixtures secretary Ismael Chege, matches involving Prisons teams which include Kenya Prisons, Mombasa, Western and Nairobi have been shelved as they are competing in the Prisons Championships at their Staff Training College in Ruiru.
GSU tactician Gideon Tarus is upbeat about the team’s performance despite missing the services of outside hitter Cornelius Kiplagat who is yet to fully recover from an injury he sustained in March during the Africa Club championship.
In his absence, the tactician has relied on Naftali Chumba and Nicholas Matui, players the coach says have fit in Kiplagat’s shoes perfectly.
Abiud Chirchir, who sustained an injury in the same Africa games, has recovered and did duty for the club in the previous league edition held in Voi.
“I have full confidence in all my 20 players and in the absence of any player; we have the depth to effectively replace them. We will go for clean sweeps in our matches,” said Tarus.
