Friendlies cancelled

The National Sports

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE international club friendlies scheduled for this week between Hekari United and Solomon Warriors in Honiara, Solomon Islands, have been cancelled following travel constraints.
Hekari were scheduled to depart on Tuesday ahead of their first friendly with the Solomon Warriors yesterday, however due to flights fully booked to cater for 10 of its players, the club did not travel.
Team manager Vonnie Kapi Natto told The National yesterday that although it was disappointing for Hekari, the club remained focused in their preparation to represent PNG in the upcoming Oceania Football Confederation Champions League in Vanuatu.
“Air Niugini told us that they had no spaces (on their flight) for our full team that’s why we didn’t make it (to Solomon Islands),” Kapi Natto said.
“It was very discouraging indeed but we have no choice.
“But regardless, our team is in good spirits. Our focus now is to prepare to travel to Vanuatu in two weeks.”
The club planned to take a 23-man squad to Honiara to play two fixtures to test their preparation before the O-League centralised tournament kicks off in Vanuatu from May 14-27.
Head coach Erickson Komeng had told this paper earlier this week the friendlies would be a good test for his young team – some of whom had no O-League experience.
“We have a young team with only a few senior players that have played against them (Solomon Warriors) before but it’s a positive thing for us to play against some of our competitors to get our young players to be at that level in the Champions League,” Komeng said.
With the friendlies called off, Komeng will return to the drawing board to fine tune his team’s preparation with the assistance of fellow coach David Muta.
Meanwhile, Hekari will look to select its final 23-man squad which the club said would not be announced until before kickoff.
Hekari were pooled in Group B with hosts Vanuatu’s Ifira Blackbird, AS Pirae from Tahiti and New Caledonia’s Tiga Sport.
Fiji’s Suva FC, Lupe Ole Soaga of Samoa, New Zealand’s Auckland City and Solomon Warriors of Solomon Islands will compete in Group A.