Dabinyaba happy to be a Dweller

Nigel Dabinyaba’s connection with fellow Papua New Guinea footballer Raymond Gunemba is a joy for fans to witness.
The pair has been playing together in the National Soccer League for Hekari United before joining Peter Gunemba’s Lae City Dwellers.
They’ve also been playing side-by-side in the Papua New Guinea national team.
Despite the success they have enjoyed together, the pair went their separate ways — Raymond heading to New Zealand while Dabinyaba took up his first professional contract with Penang in the Malaysian Super League.
For the first time the dynamic goal scoring duo had been separated on the field and Dabinyaba admits that at times it proved hard to handle.
“I really missed the boys so much,” he said of Gunamba and his Lae teammates.
“They’re like my brothers. I had some new options, contracts, but I had to leave them and come back because I missed the boys and missed playing with them.”
Dabinyaba has been back in the fold of his former club in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League since the season started.
He said coming back to play alongside his ‘brother’ has been a highlight of his return to his former club.
“When I left, there was no one who understood me very well. I’m happy being back playing with Raymond and hopefully we’ll be doing even better in the coming games,” he said.
Although Dabinyaba is pleased to be back, he is also quick to point out the sojourn with Penang was a fruitful experience.
“At the professional level, it’s quite different,” he said.
“You get so many players from different countries playing together there and that makes the difference. Players from South America, Europe, so it’s quite tough out there.”
He said the cultural change was a big factor that took some getting used to.
“It was definitely tough because of the food, the lifestyle and the language. But I really tried to cope with that,” he said. – OFC