Nakuru, Ulinzi renew rivalries in WPL playoff

In a repeat of the 2019 division one playoff final, Women Premier League (WPL) sides Nakuru West Queens and Ulinzi Starlets will lock horns in one of the two playoff quarters scheduled for June 19. 

The league, which was reverted to the zonal format at the beginning of the 2020 season with the federation sighting financial burden on the teams travelling far and wide to honour fixtures, I headed for a knock-out stage where the top three teams in each zone qualified. 

Nakuru picked maximum points in their last regular league match against no-show SEP Ladies to beat Wadadia FC to zone B's second place. Vihiga Queens finished top of the zone. 

Ulinzi, on their part, played for a goalless draw against Zetech Sparks to maintain third place behind Thika Queens and Gaspo Women. A win for the soldiers would have seen them finish second as Gaspo were held to a three-all draw by Makolanders in the final match. 

Thika and Vihiga have been given a bye to the second round of the playoffs, the semis, by virtue of finishing top of their respective zone's standings. The second place finishers in zone A, Gaspo, are set to play the third placed side from zone B, Wadadia.  

"This is quite the achievement, being new to the league and given how competitivethe zone is. I am proud of the players for fighting to be in the playoff. Playing against Ulinzi will be no walk in the park for either side.We met Ulinzi in 2019 and they had come with all pomp and had a good entourage of uniformed fans. My players panicked for the first 30 minutes of of match as they had never played under such circumstances.

The squad has since matured and the players are ready to go. I do not feel we have anything we need to work on before the matches. We will stick to our routine. A majority of the players that did duty in the 2019 match are still with us and coupled with the new signings, I am confident we will hold our own," said Nakuru's tactician Benard Esitoko. 

Meanwhile, Ulinzi who were also making their debut in the top tier league lived up to their biling, banking on their experienced players to get to the top three. 

"I am a bit worried about my conversion rate. In the last two matches we have created chances but were unable to score. In our match against Zetech, the playing surface played a role in us failing to score but that is no excuse. I also rested some players and asked the rest to tread carefully as we had made peace with third place and were keen not to pick unnecessary injuries with the task ahead. We now have a week to work on our weak links and I believe the squad will do well in the knockout stage," said Ulinzi's coach Joseph Mwanza. 

The venues for the playofd matches are yet to be revealed. "We wish the federation would revealed such in good time. We are a self-sponsored team and need time to make travel arrangements, if any, and plan for the expenses involved in the team taking part in the playoff," Esitoko added