Africa-Press – Eritrea. Radio Africa polo team captain Jules Camm believes the side can get better with time if they improve on the defensive aspect of their game.
The team lost 6-4½ to Samurai in a thrilling encounter to mark the end of Day One of the Chairman’s Cup at the Nairobi Polo Club on Saturday evening.
“It was quite a close game, an evenly-matched one. We lost by only one and a half goals. I think they (Samurai) were the better team on the counter and were solid defensively. Their horses were faster and they have great players, such as Raphael (Nzomo),” Camm said.
The skipper added: “In a game sometimes you are unlucky and you lose. We missed a lot of opportunities and we should have had a penalty. But that is the way it is sometimes.”
Following their loss, Radio Africa will drop into the subsidiary division where they will face off against 24:7 and Jacaranda on Day Two of the tournament.
Camm says they have picked valuable lessons from their loss and will be keen on rectifying their mistakes by the time they take to the pitch on Sunday.
“I think we have to be quicker on our men and improve on our defence. The first thing we have to do on Sunday (tomorrow) is to look at our man before we look at the ball. We have to be focused on our defensive play,” he said.
Samurai’s Nzomo was of the same opinion that the game had been a close contest and paid homage to his competitors for raising the standard of the encounter.
“I think we gelled well as a team. They (Radio Africa) are a difficult team to play against. They have Camms, who is an international player and likes to control the game a lot so we also had to raise our game today,” Nzomo, also the chair of Nairobi Polo Club said.
Nzomo is looking forward to Sunday’s final where Samurai will square off with the Tanqueray quartet of Philip Arunga, Louis Roumeguere, Moses Wainaga, and Miranda Romijn.
Tanqueray defeated Tusker Malt 2-1 in the penultimate game of the day to secure passage to the final.
“I am looking forward to meeting my good friend and mentor and teacher, Philip (Arunga) in the final. Last weekend we met in the final and I beat him so I know he is really determined to beat me this time round,” Nzomo said.
In other matches of the afternoon, Tusker Malt defeated Ultimate Security — who had also lost 3½-2 to Tanqueray in an earlier match — 2½- 1 whereas Jacaranda beat 24:7 4-3 in a subsidiary encounter.
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