Hekari retain top NSL spot

The National Sports

By PATRICIA KEAMO
HEKARI United ended the first round of the National Soccer League (NSL) at the top of the Southern Conference ladder with 16 points after they beat Gulf Komara 2-1 in Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash at Port Moresby’s Papua New Guinea Football Stadium.
Komara opened the scoring in the first half through a shot by Pascal Kundi with an assist from Numa Kila before Hekari equalised with a direct penalty kick by Daniel Joe.
Both sides came back stronger in the second half with intense ball work and attempts to score more goals before a strike by Hekari’s Solomon Rani found the back of the net to seal the win.
Hekari coach Erickson Komeng said their 2-2 draw with Port Moresby Strikers the previous weekend had pushed them to work harder in training and win the match against Komara.
“It was a must-win match,” he said.
“I’m impressed with the boys, this is the team that we really wanted to beat.
“Especially in the second half, we did well to score the winner.
“We’re going to come back strong in round two after the break.”
Meanwhile, Komara assistant coach Steven Mune said he was disappointed with some of the decisions made by referee David Yareboinen which affected their game. “Our preparation was very good with the team looking forward to play Hekari so we were set for it, the tempo was good,” he said.
“Apart from that, referring was just disappointing.
“Referees and linesmen have to be consistent, especially when two big teams are playing, spectators are here to watch good football.
“How can you just blow (the whistle) unnecessarily when players are going down?
“It’s not good, when you have two good strong teams playing, you should just let the game flow.
“Otherwise it was okay, we pressured them in the first half.
“We took our chance and scored.
“We’re going to face them (Hekari) in the second round so it’s not finished yet.”
Results: Sat, Sept 4 — Hekari United 2 Gulf Komara 1, Southern Youth 1 Star Mountain 4, Port Moresby Strikers 1 Central Dabaris 0, Lae City 6 Morobe United 2, Northern Youths 0 Morobe Wawens 2, Sepik 2 Tusbab Stallions 0.