Sharkia Hockey Club of Egypt have claimed a record 20th men's Africa Cup for Club Champions title with a 4-2 win over Strathmore University of Kenya.
The hotly contested match saw Sharkia jump out of the blocks and race into a 2-0 lead inside ten minutes thanks to goals from Samir Mohammed (7th-PC) and Waled Mahmoud (10th-FG). The early onslaught destabilized the impressive Strathmore side who managed to calm their nerves with a goal in the 20th minute through an open play strike from Davis Wanagwe, with the side’s going into the half time break with the score at 2-1 in favour of Sharkia.
Back from recess, it was Strathmore who took the game to the Egyptians and stunned them in the 44th minute when Wanagwe scored his second of the game to pull his team level.
However, the Sharkia response was instant as Hossam Gobran's field goal established a 3-2 lead for the Egyptians. Strathmore, with their tails up and sensing that they could match the Egyptian squarely, turned on the heat and went in search of the goals needed to win the game. Despite this, the well organized Sharkia defense contained their opponents and looked for an opening to cause damage with a number of dangerous counter-attacks.
Sharkia eventually put the game out of reach in the 67th minute when Mostafa Khalil fired home a field goal to seal a 4-2 victory. The win confirmed their 20th African Cup title and left everyone wondering if there is any club in Africa capable of stopping this incredible club from winning a 21st crown next year.
In the Bronze medal match, Police of Kenya achieved a 3-1 win over Niger Flickers of Nigeria to claim third place.
Strathmore’s Davis Wanagwe finished the tournament as top scorer, while team-mate Emmanuael Simiya was named as the most promising player. Amadu Abdallah of Exchequers (Ghana) was credited as the tournament’s best goalkeeper, with Malawi’s Gentrix claiming the Fairplay Trophy.
In the Women's competition, Nigeria’s Heartland Hockey Club retained their crown by beating Sunrise of Zimbabwe 5-1 in the tournament final. It was an extremely one-sided competition, with Heartlands winning every single match that they played, scoring 43 goals and conceding just two in the process.
The 2012 Edition of the competition will be hosted by Zimbabwe, with the venue most likely to be in the city of Harare.
The Executive Board of the African Hockey Federation conveys its congratulations to Sharkia and Heartlands for winning their respective competitions and to the organizers and the officiating officials for a good job done.
Source material: African Hockey Federation
