Kagua Erave put three goals past Mt Hagen

By BENJAMIN KOITAKA
Kagua Erave got their campaign off to a good start with a 3-0 win over Mt Hagen in the National Soccer League (NSL) Highlands Conference at the National Sports Institute in Goroka on Sunday.
With the aim of starting strong in the Kumul Petroleum Holdings-sponsored competition, both teams played well in the first half.
Captain Neil Hans opened the scoring for Kagua Erave in the second half.
With Kagua Erave leading 1–0, midfielders Papalau Awele and Jordan Kaven got in on the act to put the match beyond doubt.
Head coach Steven Mune dedicated the win to the people of Kagua-Erave.
“I’m pleased with the performance, though our midfielders missed several opportunities,” he said.
“Jordan missed a lot of one-on-one opportunities and I’m aware of that issue.” He said with the services of Hans, the team were able to execute their game plan.
“I told them to control the engine room (midfield),” the former PNG striker said.
He said Mt Hagen were a challenging team, as some of their players had NSL experience.
“They had their chances and we had ours but it came down to how well we executed our game plan,” he said.
“I’m happy with our backline, they tightened up in defence.
“This made it difficult for our opponents to create chances.
“We are looking forward to our second match this weekend.
“We would like to thank Sports Vice-Minister and Kagua-Erave MP Wesley Raminai for his support, as he is also our club patron.
“We will go back to training and prepare for our next opponents.
“Hopefully, we beat them too.”