Gabutu One remain unbeaten

By BENJAMIN KOITAKA
Gabutu One edged Kaileuna FC 2-1 in the men’s pool A of the Eastern Papua Carnival over the weekend.
The win sees Gabutu One maintain their unbeaten run since the start of the tournament on Dec 1 at the Bisini Soccer Grounds.
Kaileuna came out firing in the first half and were rewarded with an early goal.
Kaileuna, however, were unable to find a second goal as Gabutu One slowly grew into the match.
Gabutu One’s pressure paid off when Maso Haro beat the goalkeeper to level the scores before halftime.
It was anyone’s game after the break, with several penalties and free kicks awarded to both teams.
However, Gabutu One’s Basil Jofari made no mistake at close range to score the winner.
Gabutu One, who have five wins and a draw, are aiming to make this weekend’s finals.
Gabutu One assistant coach Tony Ilai said over the weekend that Kaileuna gave them a good run for their money.
“It was good that we won to maintain our spot,” Ilai said.
“We are happy to get a good result this weekend game.
“This is our sixth game — one draw and five wins.
“We have got other teams (fighting for spots), so I can’t say we are in the finals.
“We have other teams yet to play this coming week before finals.
“We are going okay with training. But we’re not training too hard because it is very hot.
“So we are doing what we can to make the finals.
“Gabutu have two teams, so we are always adjusting.
“Whoever plays really well (in the second team), we bring them up to team one to keep our campaign going.”