Talking points from the 2016 MPL National Hockey League

KAMPALA- The 2016 Hockey season served thrills and spills and culminated with Wananchi winning both the male and female league seasons. Daily Monitor barely missed proceedings and thus brings you the stories that made the season.

Wananchi’s ‘flawed’ dominance
Wananchi men have won four straight league titles while their ladies’ side has two since inception three years ago.

However, the criticism is that their failure to make it to the Africa Cup of Club Championships over financial reasons in those years, has had a ripple effect on local hockey in terms of lack of exposure.

DCU’s ‘improvement’
Deliverance Church (DCU) finished bottom of the ladies’ log last season with just three points scoring eight and conceding 85 goals.

This season they have managed 13 points, 10 against listless Jaguars, scoring 15 and conceding 46 goals. But the win against Swans in the final round and a first goal against Gazelles show a side growing in confidence.

Jaguars in decline
Weatherhead Jaguars had to start from scratch this season as most players went AWOL while Siddy Alum was promoted to Gazelles.

The finer details are; they started the season without basic knowledge of hockey in a 5-0 loss to DCU but went on to get their only point in a goalless draw with DCU, first goal against Swans and ended the season trying to cause an upset in a 4-2 loss to champions Wananchi.

However, the team needs serious surgery to become more than a feeder team to Gazelles after conceding 96 goals and scoring just three in 16 games.

Misfiring KHC
KHC teams – Stallions and Swans are arguably the most imposing local sides in games but lose so many points to their rivals because of their profligacy infront of goal.

The Stallions scored 40 goals last season but only added one to that total this term despite Bramwell Lijoodi’s ability to score from short corners and finish as second top scorer.
For the Swans, it even got worse; from 52 goals in 2015 to just 35 this year.

Umpires get stick
Umpiring hockey is one of the least enviable tasks in local sport. There is hardly a game that ends without a swipe at umpires while the fact that they also double as players has hurt the integrity of the sport.

But such is the small pool of people interested in hockey that many players have to hold an extra portfolio as administrators, judges, umpires or coaches
Empty stands
That the sport hasn’t done enough to market itself is well evidenced in the fact that on match days the stands are always left to players either waiting for a game or resting after a match. The sport must attract new folowers.

TEAM OF THE SEASON
Men in 3-4-3:
Goalkeeper
Steven Otieno
Defenders
E. Wabuyaka
Abdulaziz Razak
Martin Okello
Midfielders
Innocent Mbabali
R. Ssemwogerere
Allan Malit
Derrick Akuwa
Forwards
Thomas Opio
Bramwell Lijoodi
Peter Elolu

Women in 3-4-3:
Goalkeeper
Shakira Nambooze
Defenders
Winnie Alaro
Desire Mukisa
Fatumah Namubiru
Midfielders
Aisha Kagere
Doreen Assimwe
Hellen Buteme
Lucy Teddy Aciro
Forwards
Judith Mirembe
Doreen Mbabazi
Siddy Alum