Tigoi, Musingu retain national hockey titles

Tigoi Girls and Musingu Boys have retained their titles as this year’s Brookside Secondary Schools national Term One games ended today at Shanzu Teachers College.

Tigoi laboured to a 3-2 victory against reigning East Africa champions St Joseph’s Girls High School Kitale to get a firm grip on the trophy and extend their reign to two years in a row.

Salome Anyango was the star of the match, bagging a brace for Tigoi who were trailing 1-2 with 18 minutes to play.

An elated Tigoi coach, Moses Erima, lauded his charges for a good fight.

“This year’s competition was very tough, the standards were very high because all teams were very strong. My girls put up a spirited fight and refused to give up even when we were trailing and I commend them for fighting on and getting the job done,” Erima said.

Philly Lavenda broke the deadlock in the 14th minute to give Tigoi a 1-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. St Joseph’s would dominate the second quarter, pressing deep into Tigoi’s half in hunt for an equaliser. Their efforts paid off three minutes before the breather as captain Aphlyne made a successful penalty corner conversion to level the score 1-1 going into the break.

On resumption, Joy Vallary scored seconds into the third quarter to give St Joseph’s a 2-1 lead. With their title on the line, Tigoi would intensify their attacks with Anyango restoring parity in the 42nd minute through a penalty corner. Anyango hit the board in the 50th minute to deny St Joseph’s which had been very impressive the title.

In the boys’ final, Antony Munyendo’s second quarter goal was all Musingu needed to beat former national and East Africa champions St Anthony’s Boys High School Kitale and secure their third title in a row.

St Anthony’s were looking to reclaim the title they lost to Musingu in 2023 but have failed to recapture it in the last two national finals. The record East Africa champions St Anthony’s will shift focus to the regional games where they will be seeking to salvage their gong.