Weatherhead ladies’ chance to close gap
With the presence of Siddy Alum, Weatherhead(in red) can compliment their rather steady defence with an exciting attack. PHOTO Makhtum Muziransa
KAMPALA- Weatherhead will relish their chance to close in on the top two sides of the women’s Uganda Baati Hockey League this weekend at Lugogo.
The oldest ladies’ club-side buoyed by the return of Siddy Alum are in good form and are supposed to meet bottom side Rhinos today as they wrap up their third round.
Prior to Alum’s return from the diaspora for the third round, Weatherhead were languishing in fourth on the five-team log with just six points from eight games.
The forward had starred for Weatherhead for a couple of seasons before 2018 and has now engineered two wins over Kampala Hockey Club (KHC) Swans and Deliverance Church of Uganda (DCU) in their last two games. They are now three points within second-placed KHC’s reach.
Alum will be eager to get her side past Rhinos but SCORE understands that the latter are unlikely to honour the fixture that was rescheduled from August 24.
“The communication about the game came on short notice on Monday,” Rhinos’ player-coach Susan Khainza told SCORE.
“Besides, I will not be around on Saturday and my girls are too young to play on their own,” she added.
Rhinos risk losing the match by forfeiture as the Awards, Honours and Competitions Committee (AHCC) are wont to argue that in a letter sent to clubs on October 20, they communicated that the coming three weekends would be used to accommodate postponed fixtures.
Such a decision would cost Rhinos and gift Weatherhead a hustle-free three points and five goals.
Meanwhile, Rhinos are among the clubs that reportedly threatened to boycott all Uganda Hockey Association (UHA) activities until issues around the national teams’ botched trips to South Africa are resolved.
Khainza, however, did not elaborate whether the unlikeliness to play this weekend has anything to do with the strike.
“Give me this weekend and I will tell you about that (strike),” she said.
Suffice to note that Rhinos’ September 28 match with DCU, who had then confirmed they were on strike, did not happen. Also the match-sheet (signed by umpires Aisha Kagere, Richard Kaijuka and reserve William Oketcha plus judge Erina Nabukeera and technical officer Ramadhan Siraje) for their September 14 fixture with KHC Swans claims both teams were not ready for their match one and half hours after the scheduled hit-off time.
Despite the absence of a rule to show how such a scenario can be handled, the official league table reflects a draw as the result for that September 14 engagement – a complete contrast to the September 28 match that is yet to reflect anywhere.
UGANDA BAATI HOCKEY LEAGUE
TODAY AT LUGOGO
W: Rhinos vs. Weatherhead, 1pm
M: Makerere vs. City Lions, 3pm
M: Historicals vs. KHC Stallions, 5pm
