Menengai Oilers head coach Gibson Weru has expressed sympathy for South Coast Pirates after the coastal outfit was relegated from the Kenya Cup.
In their inaugural season, Pirates were unable to avoid the axe after suffering a 35-0 defeat to the Oilers on Saturday evening at the Seacret Grounds.
The loss saw them exit the tournament with only two victories from the 11 matches played during the regular 2024/25 season.
Their first win came against Strathmore Leos, with an 18-8 scoreline, followed by a 17-0 triumph over Nakuru RFC, earning them a total of nine points in the competition.
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Meanwhile, Menengai Oilers secured a place in the quarterfinals, bouncing back from previous setbacks that dashed their hopes of securing a direct semifinal spot.
Now in third place with 47 points, they will face Kenya Black Blad in the quarterfinals on March 22 with their semifinal prospects to be determined by whether they face Kabras or KCB a week later.
Despite the commanding victory, Oilers’ head coach Weru acknowledged the difficulty of the match, noting that they had to adjust tactically to secure the win.
“Today, it was a tough game. The score doesn’t really reflect the outcome. They made it really hard for us, and we had to dig deep, especially in the second half.
Yes, it’s five points, but we learned a lot from this match, exposing different players in different positions to see how that works moving forward for the rest of the season,” Weru explained after the match.
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He further expressed his pleasure with the result but shared his disappointment over the Pirates’ relegation, praising their competitive spirit throughout the match and the rest of the season.
“I feel excited about the performance today, but at the same time, I am a bit disappointed with the Pirates. I think they have put up a good fight, and they deserved more than that this season, but that’s the nature of the sport. I know they can reboot and become better,” he added.
Weru also mentioned that the victory provided a much-needed boost heading into the playoffs, giving the team renewed motivation.
“These past three weeks have been intense, both in terms of fixtures and results, so today’s win serves as a much-needed breather to regain our confidence. Now, we focus on how we’ll approach Black Blad in the quarterfinals,” he concluded.
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