By SAMPSON BONAI
NEWCOMERS Sogeram gave reigning premiers Sobou a scare before going down 2-1 in Lahi men’s premier division soccer grand final at Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae on Saturday.
Sobou took out the major premiership trophy and K300 cash while Sogeram settled for the runner-up trophy and K200.
Sobou player/coach Richard Daniels said they took the right option by applying pressure in the second half in the midfield to tire down their opponents and score two goals in the second half then defended strongly to walk away smiling.
“We gave away the game in the first half where the players were concentrating too much in the front and not coordinating play in the backline and had to revise our attacking format in the second half and play according to our set pattern to win the game,” Daniels said.
Sogeram coach Aaron Mugaliong was pleased with his team’s performance and said it was their debut grand final appearance and all the players played exceptionally well but lacked the finishing power to convert the opportunities.
“We gave away seven scoring opportunities otherwise we could have beaten Sobou. We gave away the game in the second half as Sobou relied on skills and experience to win the grand final and I commend my players for putting up a strong fight in the dying minutes to score a goal,” Mugaliong said.
Sobou’s midfielders Billy Namuesh and Lesly Ngate and strikers Justin Patson, Peter Havia and Peter Gigilam were in the thick of action up front and kept penetrating into Sogeram’s territory looking for openings to score goals.
Sogeram strikers Francis Yasasa, Jackson Jiram, Mathew Yomba and Jeremy Yasasa linked up with midfielders Philip Sabua, Bais Manges and Matsie Oseah to drive the ball deep into Sobou’s territory every time they touched the ball but lacked the finishing power.
Sogeram’s only goal came from Francis Yasasa after his brother Jeremy made a clear break down the sideline and put a good cross which caught Sobou’s defence off guard and landed on his brother’s boot to slam home their only goal before fulltime.