Maclaren face uphill battle in PMSA prelim finals

The National Sports

By JACK AMI
IT’S do or die as Maclaren face an uphill battle against University in the men’s premier division preliminary finals of the Port Moresby Soccer Association at the Bisini Park tomorrow.
The winner will book for the grand final against Mungkas while the loser plays Genesis for the third placing on Dec 2.
The women’s premier division grand final between Guria and Mungkas will be a curtainraiser. It will be midday showdown as Maclaren coach Lua Vagi looks upon striker Tau Winnie, backed by Michael Gita, Solo John, Toru Simoi and captain Leana Geno to deliver in University’s red zone.
Following last weekend’s 2-1 win over Genesis, Vagi said they needed to go one better and win the ultimate prize.
“I’m calling on you elites to step up and lift your performance now as we face University on Saturday.
“Remember we are one hurdle away from the grand final, if we get our acts together in doing the small things right, that would be a good result for us,” Vali said.
Uni’s Robert Popat welcome back young Jaggen Nalu for the match after he was suspended recently.
“We will field the same line up like last weekend but with slight changes with two players in the middle with the return of Nalu.
“In any game we play, we respect our opponents and see how the results are in the end,” he said. The match will kick off at 9am with the men’s division one grand final between Keleiruna and Yarangs on Oval 1 while on  Oval 2 NFA Skippers will take on Global Gurupweu in the men’s division two grand final.
At 10.30am on Oval 1, DBTI Saints will clash with Erima Fly-overs in the men’s division two grand final while on Oval 2, Mainum will take on Seeadler in the women’s division one grand final.
Sunday matches will be played on Oval 2.  The first match at 9am is the men’s premier Under-19 grand final between University and Mungkas followed by women’s division two grand final at 10.30am between DBTI Saints and Murat.
At 12.30, PS Rutz will clash with Mungkas in the men’s reserve grade.
This final match between the both teams should go down to the wire. PS Rutz will be looking at fielding the first 11 who beat FC Genesis last weekend and should give Mungkas a good challenge.