Gabong stars in opener

GENESIS and Port Moresby City opened their Women’s National Soccer League campaigns with wins in the Southern Conference triple header in Port Moresby on Saturday.
A hat-trick from Genesis skipper and Papua New Guinea international Yvonne Gabong saw them register a 3-0 win over Port Moresby Academy at PNG Football Stadium.
A competitive first half saw Academy contain Genesis with skipper Delma Napun dominant in defence.
But Pacific Games gold medallist Gabong opened the scoring in the 19th minute for 1-0 lead at halftime.
The 24-year-old scored her second goal after the break before completing her hat-trick as Genesis dominated possession until fulltime.
Genesis coach Percy Mataio said it was an exciting start to the season but added that his side needed more improvement if they were to be consistently competitive.
“It’s been a long time coming and we’re just excited to be a part of the whole occasion,” he said.
“A scrappy first game for us but we can’t say much about the game because the girls did not have a fulltime competition prior to this, so we are excited about our first win of the season.”
Meanwhile, City opened their campaign with a 3-0 win over National Capital District with Haiyap Israel and Ramona Morris each scoring a goal.
An own-goal from NCD skipper Vanessa Sole sealed the match for City.
“I’m happy with the scoreline,” City coach Frederica Sakette said.
“I thought we could have done better but this is just our first match.”