Coach expects improvement

PAPUA New Guinea women’s soccer coach Rachel Wadunah is confident that her girls will improve when they take on New Caledonia in their second match of the OFC Under-19 women’s championships in Auckland, New Zealand, today.
After suffering a 12-0 loss to the hosts, PNG are holding their heads high as they prepare for the second day of the championship at Ngahue Reserve.
Disappointed with the result but proud of her team’s effort, Wadunah is expecting an improved performance in their clash with New Caledonia now that the nerves from facing the defending champions first-up are behind them.
“They did the best they could, despite conceding goals. They played until the last minute,” Wadunah said. “I’m am confident we’ll improve in our game against New Caledonia.”
New Caledonia coach Kamali Fitialeata is expecting PNG to leave nothing on the field.
“I hope that we can take advantage of PNG having lost their first match, but we also know that a team that gets wounded like that can be even more dangerous for us,” he said. “We’ll prepare ourselves for that match and see what we can do.”
PNG currently sit at the bottom of the table on goal difference.
Wadunah was impressed with her captain Margaret Joseph, who played well against New Zealand in the opening match. She is expected to take the lead when the line up against New Caledonia.
She repelled several attempts, the most impressive in the 60th minute when goalkeeper Faith Kasiray was beaten and Joseph sprinted to the goal and managed to clear the ball from the line.
Joseph’s speed, strength and leadership will create a tough challenge for New Caledonia’s strikers.
PNG scraped through to the final with a 2-1 win after a scoring in the 5th minute of injury time in the second half.
PNG: 1. Faith Kasiray (GK), 2. Natasha Sagem, 3. Margret Joseph, 4. Isabella Natera, 5. Bridget Paime, 7. Marity Sep, 8. Alison Paulias, 9. Selina Unamba, 10. Nicollete Ageva, 12. Belinda Giada, 13. Ramona Padio, 14. Leah Karo, 16. Serah Tamgol, 17. Melisa Jofari, 18. Jacklyn Maiyosi, 19. Gorethy Paofa, 20. Amatha Mistera.