Winning start for NCC in KHF league

Zedrick Kibet scored a match-high nine goals to propel newbies Nairobi City County (NCC) to victory against Young City as the Kenya Handball Federation (KHF) men's league got underway at Nyayo Court. 

Both teams were making their debut in the league with Young City, a side composed of a majority of the national deaf handball players, taking part in any league action for the first time ever as the country has no deaf league. 

The two sides played an evenly contested first half but it was NCC who pulled away in the last minutes of the first half to lead the scores 14-10 going into the breather. 

The County men returned energized, maintaining the four-goal advantage for the first 15 minutes of the second half. Robinson Mosomi and Tyson Wanguru who score five each helped NCC extend their lead to seven goals, winning 26-19. 

"We had a good performance given this is our first match. We were missing some key players but we still managed to handle the pressure from our opponents. This is a good morale booster heading into more competitive matches," said NCC skipper Nick Barasa. 

Young City's Felix Otieno and Lee Kipkenei emerged as top scorers for their side with four goals each.

"We did not have time to train ahead of the league start. We had given players some time off after our Deaflympics trip and we only managed to assemble for a day and not all players were available. It was, however, a good experience which is what we are looking for. 

From our first match, we have had a chance to identify the areas that need improving on, top of the list being ball handling and defense," offered Young City's head coach Fredrick Omole. 

The tactician believes that being in the league is a step in the right direction as they look to strengthen the national team, despite the challenges they are faced with. 

"Officiating will be our biggest challenge. The players are not able to hear the whistle at first blow and the referees will have to be patient with them. This is also a new experience for the officials. 

Some calls that would be adjudged as indiscipline and punishable for the hearing, like continuing with play when the whistle has already gone, cannot apply to our team. It will therefore take the understanding of everyone involved, including our opponents, for the team to feel accepted and to reap the benefits of playing in the league," added Omole.