KSSSA Games: Dagoretti's Juma points out areas of improvement ahead of nationals

Dagoretti Mixed girls’ handball side return to the national games looking to do better than they did in their maiden appearance at the 2019 games held in Shimo la Tewa in Mombasa.

Coach Andrew Juma, however, admits that is a herculean task given that he has had less time to prepare his charges for the task ahead as the games resumed abruptly after a two-year Covid-19-occasioned break.

“In Mombasa we finished in seventh place, losing to Kirigara, Moi Girls’ Kamusinga and picking a draw against White House in the group stage. Back then I had a better prepared squad then but that is a challenge that all teams will face.

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From the performance at the regional level, I have picked on few things that will need working on before heading to the games. We have little time to work on said areas but I believe we will do better than we did in 2019,” said Juma.

Juma’s charges grouped in pool A that had Kayole South and Dandora Secondary were cut above the rest, beating Dandora 48-00 and 30-04 against the Kayole-based school to top the pool.

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In the quarters, the side also picked the biggest win beating St George's Girls 24-04. In the semis, Mbagathi were no match for Dagoretti who picked a comfortable 30-09 victory before going on to beat Buruburu Girls 37-09 in the final.

“We have little time to make amends but top priority will be working on our goalkeeping and our defense. Competition gets stiffer at the nationals but I am confident the girls will do well,” added Juma.

With more experienced sides expected to bag tickets to the games at the ongoing regional games, Dagoretti have their work cut out in their quest to improve on their seventh-place finish.