Hekari make strong start

HEKARI United kicked of their National Soccer League campaign with a 6-1 win over Star Mountain in the opening round at Port Moresby’s Papua New Guinea Football Stadium on Saturday.
The 2020 third-place finishers opened the scoring through Solomon Rani followed by two quick Kolu Kepo goals for a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Star Mountain regrouped in the second half and scored their only goal through Eaka Philemon before Hekari’s Nigel Dabinyaba bagged a double and Rani netted his second to seal the win.
Hekari coach Erickson Komeng said he cautioned his men before the match after their loss to Star Mountain last season.
“They managed to win their game against us (last year) and the feeling still remained with us,” he told The National.
“Coming out today and trying to beat them was a hard task, but we did well.“I reminded the boys before the game that Start Mountain were here to beat us.
“They beat us once and we had to be careful, but my men began on the front foot and maintained that level of intensity throughout the match.
“It’s a new season and I have new players. “But coming into this game, we had been training for so long and we were looking forward to playing Star Mountain.
“We played according to our game plan and the goals kept coming.
“We’ll continue to work on the little things ahead of our next match.”