Hekari aim to do well

WITH all the focus on next month’s rugby league Four Nations and the 19th Commonwealth Games, PNG sports fans could be forgiven for putting soccer on the backburner.
But O’League football champions Hekari United  say they are well aware of the challenge facing them in December’s Club World Cup tournament in Abu Dhabi.
Hekari are the first Oceania club from outside Australia or New Zealand to qualify for the tournament following their success in the O-League last season.
And they face a tough ask to match Auckland City’s feat last year of finishing fifth.
In preparation for the tournament, which will feature the likes of European champions Inter Milan, Hekari have just completed a short tour of New Zealand with a 4-2 victory over Waikato FC in Hamilton.
It followed a 3-3 draw with the New Zealand under 20 side last week and a 3-0 loss to Auckland City.
Hekari’s chairman and team owner, John Kapi Natto, said the fixtures had given the side a clear indication of where they were at and what still needed to be improved upon in the next two months.
“We still want to try and look at the combinations of the flow of the team and the discipline and all that and see how we can go on from that and to do better.
“We don’t want to do down below the average of what Auckland City have done – I mean they’ve done a good job.
“We have a lot of work on our hands.”
Kapi Natto is hopeful they will be able to draft in some added coaching expertise to the country to help with their preparations.