Lae hold off Lions’ surge to seal victory

LAE Snax Tigers were given a scare before sneaking past the new-look Chimbu franchise TNA Lions 26-24 in front of supporters in Lae on Saturday.
The Lions shut out the Tigers in the second half to post four tries to lead 24-22. However, the Lions allowed their opponents to regain their composure and retain territory to score a try in the dying stages and come out 26-24 winners.
Despite the loss, Lions coach Pierre Vandome was impressed that his young side could contain the Tigers in the second half.  
“We lost the game because we made too many silly mistakes in the first half. (However) we pulled ourselves together in the second half and kept them scoreless. We made silly errors in our own danger zone and they capitalised,” he said.
Vandome said Tigers showed passion in the game with great control.
“They played well and distributed the ball well among themselves – the reason why they took control of the first half,” he said.
However, the Lions were disoriented in the first half but regrouped well in the second half and took control of the game.
Tigers posted five tries in the first half and led 22-6 heading into the break.
But the Lions came back with four tries, leaving the hosts scoreless in the second spell to take over the lead 24-22.
And with five minutes remaining, the Tigers clawed their way back to sneak past the visitors and win.
Snax Tigers coach Steve Malum said he had a very young side.
He has been putting them through several trial runs before the competition kicks off next month.
He said most of the players were recruited during the off-season competition and had been going through some intensive training sessions.
It was the second clash between the Lions and the Tigers.
They had earlier clashed with reigning champions Bintangor Goroka Lahanis in Goroka two weeks ago.