Cosmos fail to shine

 By HENRY MORABANG

COSMOS failed to live up to expectations as they were held by lowly rated Blue Kumuls to a scoreless draw in the main game of the Port Moresby Super League soccer challenge yesterday at the Bisini Soccer ground. 

The Joe Turia and John Mogi-coached team did not play their usual game and were made to chase the Blue Kumuls all over the park in the opening minutes.

The Blue Kumuls had several opportunities to find the net but their shots at goal were way off target.

Blue Kumuls ageless warrior Ken Gule and Brian Tani combined well in midfield to support player-coach Nasa ‘Masalai’ Wangu.

Wangu could have been better calling shot on the bench instead of wasting everyone’s time arguing over referee Hilary Ani’s decisions.

The match watched by a disappointing crowd at Bisini never reached any height.

Seasoned campaigners Cosmos Gary Moka, Abraham Enoch, Simeon Ealadona, Desmond Sow could have contributed more but they looked ordinary throughout the day. 

Simultaneously on Ground One, University managed to beat the fast-improving Bulolo team, the Hard Rocks, 1-0 to stay in premiership calculation.

In the other matches played on Saturday, Momase continued their dream run for the Super League title with a 5-3 thrashing of their fellow Momase wantoks. Momase has leapfrogged Cosmos into second spot, while University’s 1-0 victory over Hard Rock has propelled them into fourth spot ahead of Maclaren. Rapatona still maintain their number one spot with 2-1 victory over Maclaren, while Yamaros finally won their game after fourth successive losses beating Defence 2-0.

The unofficial ladder, Rapatona 23, Momase 21, Cosmos 20, University 19, Maclaren 18, Yamaros 18, Defence 15, PS Rutz 10, Mungkas 9, Blue Kumuls 8 and Hard Rocks 4.