Angels edge Hekari Utd in women’s NSL

By HENRY MORABANG
BIZPRINTS Angels continued their hunt in the inaugural women’s National Soccer League challenge with a 1-0 victory over pre-match favourites, Hekari, at Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby on Saturday.
It was skipper and striker Jemimah Mukar, who slotted a free-kick just outside the penalty box to beat Hekari goalkeeper Fiona Ben to register the only goal of the game.
Her performance should keep women’s selectors busy of a possible spot in selection trials.
Though number one striker Romana Lorenz had the power, Mukar was rated higher  with her speed and agility to strike the ball against her opponents.
Apart from Mukar and Lorenzo, the old legs of Judith Sauto, Dobbin sisters, Talitha and Cecilia at the backline, Cesllie in midfield along with Margaret Aka made a big difference to their side.
The two wins should put a smile on the faces of Collen MacNamara and her sponsor, Robert Dellman.
Both teams seemed to be on par but resting Marie Kaipu on the bench did not help Hekari’s cause against their opponents, who thrashed them 10-0 in the early outing.
Despite her injection in the later part of final half, she made little difference as the Angels were in defensive mode clearing or diffusing all their raids into their territory.
Hekari’s Lorna Tauloi and Bertha Wapi, at times threatened Angels’ goal area, but it was a good defence that denied them from scoring.
Midfielders Susan Gura and Esita Maino were ordinary on the day and did not help their strikers.
Backliners Lynette Bito and Edith Sabaewa, until replaced, had to work overtime in defending their goal mouth.
The win puts Angels as equal contenders with Hekari and University for the zonal championships.
The winners of Port Moresby zone will take on champions of the Lae zone to determine the inaugural winners of the women’s league.
In the early matches, University extended their goal percentage to consolidate their position as outright favourites for the Port Moresby zonal championship tag with a 9-1 victory over Maxpro PNGIPA.
University striker Tokoi Norrie scored four goals – one in the opening half while she bagged a hattrick of goals in the second, followed by Delailah Waive three and Deslyn Siniu two to bring up their tally to nine goals.
Maxpro only goal came from fullback Maggie Libitino in the 58 minute.
In Lae, Lae Central pipped PNG Power 2-0 while Barra continued their dominance in women’s soccer league with resounding 5-1 drubbing over Wau Soccer Association.