Africa-Press – Uganda. Rhinos are keen to build on their encouraging start to the women’s National League (NHL) when they take on Kampala Hockey Club (KHC) Swans tomorrow in Lugogo.
In their first game of the season, Rhinos held Deliverance Church of Uganda (DCU) to a 2-2 draw despite losing Irene Atim, one of their only 11 players on the day to injury in the 24th minute.
“We have started off well given the fact that we have not played in a long time,” Rhinos midfielder Susan Khainza, said as the club hope for better fortunes in their third league season. Rhinos are usually good starters. For example, they held Weatherhead to a 1-1 draw at the start of the 2018 league before beating them later at the start of the third round that year.
Last season (2019), they beat DCU. But, more than any other side, they are a side that grow more by practicing together more. In the past, school terms have affected their displays while other clubs seemed to cope. So the real test for Lugogo’s youngest club this season is how much they will cope for as long as training is suspended in Lugogo.
Work on mistakes
“I expect a good performance this weekend although the fact that we have not been allowed to resume training at our hockey pitch definitely has an impact on our ability to work on mistakes and build as a team,” she added before calling on National Council of Sports (NCS) and Uganda Hockey Association (UHA) to reconsider the decision.
With a reported new wave of Covid-19 hitting town, a reconsideration could be far from achievable. What Rhinos have to worry about is KHC’s push for another three points to reclaim top spot in a bid to gather momentum ahead of their match with defending champions Wananchi early next month. “Rhinos have grown over the past seasons so we cannot underestimate them,” KHC midfielder Margaret Nassiwa, warned.
