Kenya Cup: Strathmore Leos eye improved performance in second leg

Strathmore Leos head coach William Ojal has backed his team to perform better in the second half of the Kenya Cup season after a dismal start to the season that saw them go winless in the opening five matches.

They have however recovered from the poor start to record wins against Kisumu RFC and Impala and Ojal was quick to acknowledge his boys victory against Impala who are coached by immediate former Strathmore Leos coach Louis Kisia.

“We knew the weekend game would be tough bearing in mind Impala coach is the immediate former coach of Strathmore; some of their key players were all playing for Strathmore last season, even as recent as the first phase of Kenya Cup towards the end of last year. So, we knew it was going to be a tough game, we were trailing 11-0 in the first half but the boys held it together. For them to come back and win 24-14 was testament to what they are capable of especially as both the ESS and the senior team got away wins at Impala.” 

The varsity side got a shot in the arm with the return of George Ooro from Kenya Sevens duty and former captain Barnabas Owuor and Ojal says he’s content with every player’s contribution in the team.

“Rugby is a team sport and I think everyone put in a shift. Ooro came in the second half when we had already scored our first try, we also had people like our former immediate captain Barnabas Owuor, so people who came off the bench all added a bit of value to what we wanted to achieve. Not to take anything away from Ooro, yes he added some value but everyone who came in added value and knew what their jobs were.” 

Strathmore are just a point from the last playoff spot and Ojal says his team is focused on delivering more positive results to target the play offs.

“As much as we say we are in the relegation zone, we have to remember between us and the last playoff spot is one point. It's just about putting our focus on where we want to look; do we want to look behind or do we say, if we win our next game, we are in the playoffs? It's just a matter of looking at where the focus is.”

Strathmore’s next assignment is against a struggling Mwamba side and a win would be a big boost for the varsity team as they battle Kisumu, Blak Blad and Impala for the last playoff spot.