Handball: NCPB get Super Cup title defense off to winning start

Kenya Handball Federation (KHF) pre-season tournament, Super Cup got underway at the Nyayo Handball Court with teams eyeing silverware ahead of the new season. 

Men's league title holders who are also defending the Super Cup got their campaign underway with a convincing win against archrivals Black Mamba, to book their ticket to the semis. 

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In a match that was expected to be tough for either side, the millers made easy work of the Abdalla Otieno-coached Mamba, picking a 31-24 victory. 

"I am happy with the team's performance. We had prepared for this match as if it were a final and we came out strong in the second half for this win. 

Mamba are a tough side to play and we needed a strategy to beat them. We are not underestimating any team so this is the same mentality we go with into the last match of the group stage," offered coach Bryan Mathew after the victory. 

Goalkeeper Ian Odhiambo starred for the millers, especially in the last ten minutes of the match when Mamba attempted a comeback, making crucial stops to deny the opponent any hope. 

Team captain Timothy Kirimi led the stats on goals with eight as Snox Collins adding four to the final tally in the win. Martin Nguli scored eight for Mamba but it was not enough to hand his side the win. 

"Most of the things we trained on ate working for us and the squad has gelled well with the new recruits. We are looking to defend the title and this is a good start. We will take one game at a time and make full use of all our chances and stick to our game plan," Kirimi offered. 

Meanwhile, Mamba's Otieno faulted his team's casual approach to the match especially in the second half where turnovers were the order of the day. The side also missed five times from the seven-metre line. 

"We had trained well but this was not our game plan. We only played our game in the last ten minutes of the match but it was too late for a comeback. 

We regroup and correct our mistakes ahead of the next match as we hope to make it to the semis. It will be a must-win game for us," Otieno offered after the match.