Upon being handed majority charge of the Tusker FC Youth Team, coach Peter ‘PK’ Kariuki says his target this season is to hunt for promotion into the FKF Division One League.
The team currently plays in the fourth tier, Division II, and Kariuki is confident they have enough arsenal to propel the team to the next tier.
Kariuki was asked to take majority charge of the team, alongside Paul Adera, after both completed their CAF B coaching courses, and have been steadily guiding the team. This was occasioned with coach Charles Okere’s promotion to be the senior team’s head coach.
“This is an opportunity that we have been waiting for long and we thank the management for trusting us with the chance. We hope that we can put in the work to help the team earn promotion to Division One,” Kariuki said after the game.
He added; “It is a big challenge and we welcome it. We have been here for a while, since this team was formed in 2017 and we know what it takes. We have seen the development of many players and we have up to 10 who are now playing in the Premier League and more in the NSL. It is a challenge that we are capable of and we are looking forward to it.”
Kariuki believes they have a stronger team this season, and one which is capable of driving their targets.
“We have a stronger team than we did last season especially in matters of understanding the game and playing to instruction. I believe they have what it takes to take us to the next level,” said the coach.
The team resumed their Division Two League action last weekend, winning 2-0 away to Runda Youth Sports Association (RYSA). It was their eighth match of the season, the league having taken a month and a half break. Previously, the team had won only one match of the first seven, with a high number of draws; five, and one loss.
“Looking at how we had prepared for that game, the expectation was nothing short of a win. We had prepared well and played high profile friendly matches which helped us to sharpen and improve. Before that, the problem was that we were not getting the ball into the net despite creating chances. Now we have improved that and we had two goals, which could have been more,” noted Kariuki.
The team will be in action Sunday afternoon at home in Ruaraka, taking on Thika Sporting. Kariuki believes that the confidence built from last weekend’s victory will be crucial to pick back to back wins.
