Champions to defend gold against Samoa

THE national women’s football team will play Pacific Games hosts Samoa for gold at the JS Blatter Football Complex in Apia tomorrow.
PNG beat the Cook Islands 5-1 yesterday to go through to the gold-medal playoff. Earlier, Samoa beat New Caledonia 3-2.
Team PNG danced with joy when the match ended. “Prayer is a powerful tool behind every win,” said PNG’s women’s team manager Eunice Roosje Suwae.
Meagen Gunemba scored the first goal, followed by her teammate Ramona Padio in the first half.
Goalkeeper Betty Sam said: “How I managed to make many blocks is by studying the movement and timing of the ball. So that’s how I knew where to stand and defend the ball from going into the net.”
Cook Islands’ Kura Mose scored their sole goal but in the second half, Gunemba and Yvonne Gabong continued to push PNG further ahead.
Despite several substitutions by the Cooks, PNG kept fighting hard to secure more points in the second half, with Gunemba scoring the fifth and final goal.
“I am super proud of them,” PNG defender and co-captain Lucy Maino said. “I knew that coming into this game would not be easy. But we came in and set the rhythm of the game. We knew we had to work hard for it. Our normal routine before each match (is to) form a circle and encourage each other.”
The PNG Women’s Football team will be creating history tomorrow as they look to win their fifth consecutive gold at the 16th Games.