Stallions and Swans extend leads at top of National Hockey League

Kampala Hockey Club’s men’s side, the Stallions, and their women’s counterparts, the Swans, have consolidated top positions in the National Hockey League standings after convincing victories in their weekend games at Lugogo Hockey Ground.

In the sixth league fixture, the Stallions moved to 16 points after thrashing Stingers 10-1 on Saturday. They now lead defending champions Wananchi by one point, although Wananchi still has a game in hand after not having a fixture last weekend.

Weatherhead climbed to third position following their goal-scoring spree against Wabalozi, with Brian Okudi and Christopher Kyamwanya scoring seven and five goals respectively.

In the women’s league, the Swans remained top of the table with 18 points, maintaining an unbeaten run after six games. Wananchi is second with 16 points following a goalless draw against defending champions HDF.

In a related development, the Uganda Hockey Association (UHA) has started recognizing the Player of the Match in league games as one way of improving competition among players.

A Thunders player challenges an Originals Hockey Club opponent during a league game at Lugogo on May 17. Thunders won 3-0. (Photo: Silvano Kibuuka)

UHA Vice General Secretary Joshua Masawi said the initiative is intended to motivate players to raise their performance levels in every match, with the overall winners to be rewarded at the end of the league season.

“We have now introduced cash prizes for the winners, but we still lack funding for each of the ten matches played every week. At the climax of the league, the players with the highest number of Player of the Match awards in both the men’s and women’s categories will also be crowned the MVPs of the season and receive cash prizes,” Masawi noted.

He added that the new system will streamline the technical committee’s process of selecting the season’s MVPs, after the hockey fraternity questioned the undocumented criteria used last year.

League action resumes next weekend

Weekend League Results

Men

Stallions 10 Stingers 1

Wabalozi 0 Weatherhead 16

Thunders 3 Originals 0

Badgers 2 Wananchi 1

Rockets 11 Community 2

Women

Makerere 0 Weatherhead 7

Diamonds 0 Thunders 0

Deliverance 0 Swans 11

HDF 0 Wananchi 0