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Short corner defence lets down KHC Stallions in Malawi
Kampala Hockey Club have won one and lost won at the Africa Club Championship. PHOTO/COURTSEY
What you need to know:
Overall, Stallions need to do better in short corner defence. They struggled when Jaguars went direct with drags and also still could not get anywhere near their opposition when they went for passes in the penalty corners.
Kampala Hockey Club (KHC) Stallions fell 5-0 to Kenya’s Western Jaguars on Monday in their second game at the Africa Cup of Club Champions that is running in Blantyre, Malawi.
Emmanuel Wiswa dragged the ball into the net as early as the seventh minute to open the scoring for Jaguars.
But KHC showed no panic and stayed in the game until the 43rd minute when Oscar Kibet also made it 2-0 from a penalty corner.
Things got worse in the fourth quarter. Jaguars read KHC’s struggles to defend high balls and purposefully won two penalty corners that Wiswa and Willis Malesi converted in the 50th and 60th minute.
In between there, Jaguars, who had been restricted to almost no joy in open play finally got a tap in from Charles Otieno. Their frantic celebrations for that fourth goal showed how much they were relieved to break down Stallions from open play.
“I think in general terms, Jaguars were better than us but we are happy with the lessons we got here,” Stallions midfielder Alfred Agaba, said.
“We know we can build from this. But we have another test to be excited about against Egypt’s Sharkia on Wednesday,” Agaba added.
Overall, Stallions need to do better in short corner defence. They struggled when Jaguars went direct with drags and also still could not get anywhere near their opposition when they went for passes in the penalty corners.
Attacking-wise, KHC gave very little to affect the game. They will need to find the right balance in upcoming games to get a shot at the medal positions after the round-robin phase.
ACCC 2023
KHC Stallions 0-5 Western Jaguars (Kenya)
Wednesday: KHC vs. Sharkia (Egypt)
