History makers Orange power past Ghana Revenue for glory

Telkom Orange on Sunday afternoon clinched the African Hockey Championship title for a record fifth time in a row after seeing off Ghana Revenue Authority 2-0 in a thrilling final played at Nairobi’s City Park.

It had been a highly anticipated final; a clash pitting two of Africa’s most revered women hockey teams and – in the end – lived up to the hype as both sides took turns to display flashes of brilliance that captivated their endearing fans.

But Orange proved the more incisive as the evergreen Jacqueline Wangechi drew first blood in the 12th minute, setting up her side en route to collecting their ninth African championship crown.

The opening sessions of the first half had been quiet up until Wangechi’s opener which fired up the encounter.

As things turned out, the second goal was always going to be the most important and it was the hosts that fashioned what would double their lead as Juma Nekesa struck nine minutes after the interval.

Brimming with joy, Orange Coach Jos Openda thanked the team for sticking to their pre-match tactics while emphasising the magnitude of their historic feat.

“First I want to thank God, my assistants, the team manager and our sponsors who have supported us financially all through. It feels good to win this tittle and more so for doing it convincingly.

“We discussed the strategies which one of them included nullifying the threat of Elizabeth Opoku who was their star player. We had studied her game especially the way she does so many tricks when with the ball,” he told Citizen Digital.

Perhaps the clash should have been far more entertaining had two players who had been earmarked to shine – Orange’s Omaido and the visitor’s Opoku – each maintained the form that catapulted them to top of the scoring charts.

Instead, they froze when it mattered with Omaido being withdrawn in the second half while Opoku’s afternoon ended with an unfortunate injury that saw her rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Orange, the 19-time national champions, started the second half on a high note with their high pressing game forcing the visitors to remain stuck on the defensive.

Their approach paid off when Nekesa scored the second.

The Ghanaians should have halved the deficit late on but goalkeeper Cynthia Onyango thwarted from their only clear cut chance as the Kenyans went on to claim a remarkable win.

-Report by Mwangi Githinji.