Coach Amiani hails South Coast Pirates performance, keeps Kenya Cup dream alive

South Coast Pirates head coach Kevin Amiani has expressed pleasure in his charges’ performance in the season finale match played at the United States International University (USIU) Grounds on Saturday 9 March.

The Pirates edged their hosts USIU 35-22 to book a home semifinal.

The Diani-based club was fresh from a 102-3 victory over the University of Eldoret (UoE) Trojans while the students were on a mission to avenge their 24-10 loss in the hands of Daystar Falcons.

Heading to the match, the Pirates occupied the second position on the log with 36 points while their opponents were placed eighth on the table with 12 points.

Speaking after the triumph, the excited tactician noted that his charges played according to the book. Pirates have never won a match against USIU at the university’s grounds, and Amiani could not contain his joy after finally breaking the jinx.

“I want to thank the boys. They followed the plan and what they believed in. This was a very crucial match for us. We needed to win to secure home semis. We thank the boys and the fans who came out today,” Amiani told Mozzart Sport.

One thing that stood out during the match was the competitiveness of the new faces in the squad. Kelly Akeng’o who was signed to the Pirates this season was in a class of his own, drilling in penalties and conversions despite the windy weather.

Akengo is an experienced flyhalf who had stints with Western sides Kabras RFC and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) rugby.

Brighton 'Zangi' Omondi who was roped in from Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) Marines scored a brace, and Gilbert Ochieng, formerly of Nakuru RFC managed a try.

For Amiani, the new players brought in the much-needed depth for such high-intensity matches. He was glad that they gelled with the rest of the team.

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“We have been lacking depth in the previous seasons. We brought in those players because of these types of matches. We needed them to boost people to boost the energy of our local players,” he expressed.

With the win now behind them, Amiani noted that their main focus was winning the semifinal match against Daystar Falcons. The Pirates have never defeated the Falcons before, and the tactician was counting on his charges’ familiarity with the Coastal weather to propel them to greatness.

In the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, they came close to securing their promotion but were edged out by Mean Machine and Nondies respectively.

“The dream is still alive. We have already confirmed a home semifinal and we will do our best to win and proceed to the final,” he concluded.

His sentiments were echoed by the day’s man of the match Devin Abuga who promised their fans nothing but a win.

“It took us long to come into the game, but once we were in, we did what was expected. My performance was inspired by my teammates. They went hard against the opponents and I could not let them down. We will work hard. The goal remains the same; qualifying for the Kenya Cup,” Abuga explained.