Coach says Bougainville team lacked mental toughness in loss

By NATHAN WOTI
UPNG Journalism Student
BOUGAINVILLE coach David Passam said his team lacked mental toughness in their 1-2 Kumul Petroleum National Soccer League defeat to the Tusbab Stallions in Port Moresby on Saturday.
He told The National that his players were not communicating during the match which resulted in inaccurate passes, turn-overs and poor finishing.
“We were too quiet and shy in the first half,” he said of his team’s performance at the Papua New Guinea Football Stadium.
“We did not communicate and that made it difficult for us to move the ball around.
“As a result, we gave a lot of ball away. Our ball possession was not good. That is something that we’ve identified so we’ll work on it.”
Passam said his team, who have only one win from three matches, were lacking consistency early in their campaign for a top-four spot in the country’s premier football competition.
“We just need consistency in our game,” he said.
“Tusbab played well. It’s similar to how we usually play too but unfortunately, it didn’t work out for us this afternoon.
“They marked Jonathan (Allan) well in the first half but we sort of twisted the game a bit in the second half and Jonathan was able to score.
“Had we played with a lot of energy in the first half, like we did in the second, we could’ve seen a different outcome.”
Passam said he was hoping his players would learn from their mistakes and bounce back against rookies Vitiaz United on Saturday.