School of Government eye first title

Sports

THE School of Government (SOG) FC have a herculean task ahead to overcome Hekari feeder club FC Wantoks coached by Eric Komeng , pictured, in the final of the National Capital District Public Servants Soccer (NCDPSSA) men’s premier league tomorrow at Bomana.
After accounting for another of Hekari’s feeder clubs, POM Souths 3-1 in last Saturday’s first semifinal, SOG are quietly confident of a maiden premiership.
In the second semifinal last Sunday, Wantoks walloped Goldie 4-1.
In their last encounter, Wantoks beat SOG 2-0 but School coach  Leonard Lani says his current crop of players have what it takes to break their premiership drought.
“My boys have trained well all week and we just have to follow our game plan, cut down our errors and hope it all works out in our favour in the end. The feeling is great and I am confident,” Lani said.
It has been a six-year wait since entering the competition in 2010 but club president Brian Yamoe was optimistic it was only a matter of time before they won a title.
“We’ve gone as far as the semifinals in past seasons but we were never able to get to a decider. This year we’ve made a few changes to our squad and recruited some quality and the results have shone that,” Yamoe said.
He said discipline had improved and the players were serious about what they did at training and on the field and that had translated into better performances and more importantly wins.
“I couldn’t be happier to be in a final and all those years of hard work and sacrifice are starting to pay off.”
SOG recruited several rural players from the Rigo coast mid-season with Kalo’s Patrick Nota, an attacking mid-fielder and Tom Gerald having an impact.
Both have been regular scorers for the club and were a big reason why SOG were able to snap up a finals spot after the regular season.
Nota’s combination with fellow midfielders Kody Vewa and Kanawi Minan will be telling while defenders Samuel Minan, Charlie Gabi and Raiki Kego need to complement that offensive potential with sound defence.
Lani has a selection dilemma with goal-keepers Bobby Ronald and new recruit Cedric Kini jostle for the starting berth.
Lani said aside from winning a title, the bonus about making the final was that his players were being looked at by NSL scouts.
“I’m excited with the good number of players we have developed and I’m sure there are some NSL clubs taking notice,” Lani said.