USIU eye second spot after dumping Sikh

United States International University’s recent upsurge showed no signs of stopping as they edged Sikh Union 2-1 in Wednesday’s sole Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) men’s Premier League at the City Park in Nairobi.

The win saw USIU climb two places up to third in the men’s premier competition, three points adrift second placed Green Sharks who have 40 points with seven league matches left before the close of the season.

Brian Kiplimo grabbed a brace inside 44 minutes to put USIU in the driving seat early on with Amit Rajput hitting a late consolation for his side with virtually the last minute of play.

Head Coach Tom Olal was elated by their latest win that made it three in a row, crediting the impressive turnaround to hard work from his charges.

“The players are working hard they even took the initiative to continue training during the election break meaning that they now own the team,” Olal said.

Olal admitted the Varsity side are already out of the title contention given they have fallen 15 points behind runaway leaders Kenya Police who have three games in hand despite their mammoth lead.

“If my players give a good account of themselves in the remaining matches then maybe we can finish second which will be good for us,” he conceded.

For Sikh Union, the result meant they suffered their second successive defeat after going down 4-3 to Kenya College of Accountancy University (KCAU) in the previous round.

It leaves the 2012 champions seventh on the log with 28 points although they also have three games in hand.

Next up for Sikh is the defending champions Strathmore University on Sunday as USIU take on ninth placed Chase Sailors on the same day at City Park.