HAMMAMET, Tunisia, Jun 24 – The men’s handball team endured a losing start at the Africa Beach Games in Hammamet going down by straight sets (24-10, 28-16) to hosts and defending champions Tunisia.
They had an improved performance in the second period, but slight errors in ball handling and passing was the difference.
Derrick Otieno, who amassed 10 points in the game, said they had a slow start as most of them were playing such a level for the first time.
“Maybe there was some element of fear and we still hadn’t caught a grasp of the game especially in the first half. But after we settled down in the second half, we played better and had a good performance,” Otieno said.
He added; “We had a few errors and lapses in concentration especially in defensive marking, but it is something that we will work on for our next match.”
Nessim Ouji was Tunisia’s best scorer in the match accumulating 14 points while Marwen Chetioui had 12. The two were central in Tunisia’s great start to the game, powered by a partisan crowd that lifted their voices in the afternoon heat in Hammamet.
They rallied to a 10-0 lead within the opening minutes and Kenya tried to rally back, calling a timeout after registering their first points on the board with 3:30 to play. The Tunisians still managed to take control of the duel, winning the opening period 24-10.
In the second period, the Kenyan boys rallied and had a good performance coming to within four points with 6:27 played on the clock, William Okumu’s spin shot putting some energy in the Kenyan side.
However, Tunisia showed their experience and agility, taking shots on the spin to accumulate more two-point goals.
Kenya now switch attention to their second match of the group when they take on Algeria for a place in the semi-finals.
“We have now looked at our mistakes and we will analyze them better to ensure we perform better and win,” Otieno said.
