City United dominate finals

By LARRY ANDREW
CITY United Football Club clinched three titles at the Lae Football Association on Sunday after winning the grand finals in their respective divisions.
The club’s U17, U20 and men’s teams were also awarded the minor premiership in their divisions.
In the U17 division, United beat Mase FC 2-o.
The club’s U20 side edged Chakalau 1-0 in a strong contest.
The club’s senior men’s side humbled West Brothers 5-3 in a penalty shootout after the game ended in a draw following extra time.
In the other two divisions, Bara1 FC beat Murat FC 3-0 in the women’s A-League grand final whilst Guria FC edged Mase FC 1-0 in the men’s B-League grand final.
The men’s A-League grand final was tightly contested as United and Brothers displayed great skills in all departments to settle for a scoreless first-half.
Brothers were first to score through Henry Gawi after the break.
But United — with skipper Lui Kataka, Oscar Joshua, Alex Kamen and Max Efale — refused to back off.
United’s determination to stay in the contest paid off with Moses Agi belting the ball past Brothers goalkeeper to level the scores at 1-1.
After Agi’s goal, the intensity of the game picked up, however, neither team were able to penetrate the opposition defence.
Both teams were unable to clinch the winner at the end of extra time but United, with their experience, held their nerve to clinch the title with a 5-3 win in a penalty shootout.
Bothers captain Rodney Talau told The National that their preparation leading up to the final was terrific with plenty of new players participating in the team.
“I told the players that losing or wining was not the issue, as gaining experience in the grand final was better than nothing,” Talau said.
“I’m really happy with the players’ performance against City, but our opponents’ experience gave them the upper hand to win the grand final.”
United team manager Ian Bengkudud said the club was ready to take on Brothers after they lost to them in the quarterfinal last year.
“We prepared well for this game and deserve the win,” Bengkudud said.
“The win was a result of the effort put in by the management.
“We thank Roy Kamen, for his continued support towards the club.
“We also thank our sponsors Eastpac and Mairobs Hire Cars for their continuous support.”