Hekari recruit Yasasa impresses on debut with a goal

MIDFIELDER Yagi Yasasa scored on his club debut to help Hekari United beat Star Mountain 6-2 in round eight of the National Soccer League in Port Moresby on Saturday.
Star Mountain opened scoring through Pasea Kiki before Yasasa equalised in the first half of the Southern Conference fixture at Papua New Guinea Football Stadium.
Conference leaders went into the break with a 3-2 lead, thanks to goals by Kolu Kepo and Michael Foster.
Joshua Manab scored Mountain’s other goal.
Both sides stepped up the tempo in the second half with numerous attempts on goal but Hekari were resolute in defence.
Hekari’s Solomon Rani and Joe brothers Daniel and Joseph scored a goal each to seal the win and help the Erickson Komeng-coached side retain pole spot.
Komeng said although his men had a slow start, they managed to come from behind and seal an emphatic win.
“The performance was a bit scrappy,” he said. “So we have to go back and put in more work as teams have returned stronger for the second round.
“Yagi played well by scoring the equaliser.
“His goal helped got us back into the contest.”
Meanwhile, Hekari forward Nigel Dabinyaba suffered a hamstring injury in the second half and is awaiting advice from the club physiotherapist.
“A hamstring injury is hard to predict, he just has to nurse it,” Komeng said.
“We’re hopeful he is available for selection soon.
“But if he doesn’t recover for our next match, we’ve got the depth to fill in where necessary.”
Star Mountain manager Joseph Ame said some of their senior players had left the club during the transfer window, including Tau Winnie.
“We worked with the players we had, but our preparations weren’t good enough during the break,” he said.
“But we made it to the game, so it’s enough for us.
“There are some things we need more work on like teamwork and fitness, but it all goes back to the technical team to work on that.
“When you play disciplined football, everything will fall into place.
“It’s something that our technical team will work on.”