McLaren take down champs Momase

 STRIKER Felix Bondaluk, pictured, broke the hearts of Momase fans after he propelled Maclaren to a 4-3 victory in the Port Moresby men’s super league match at the Bisini Grounds on Saturday.

The lanky Morobean slipped in a powerful right footer courtesy of a tap from Pakot Poesi that was enough to dent the hopes of reigning premiers, Momase.

Bondaluk celebrated the goal by punching the air, probably telling himself “this will be enough to seal a win for my team”.

Momase will be cursing themselves for some sloppy defence that left enough room for Bondaluk to drive the shot past Momase goalkeeper Kevin Ivara.

With a 3-1 deficit, Momase were heading for a humiliating loss but they miraculously salvaged their way back to level at 3-3 with a hat-trick to Moses Arisib who scored his first goal in the 21st minute to cross out Pascal Wojem’s 17th minute goal.

With the scores level at 1-1, Maclaren lifted the tempo with two fast goals to Absalom Waluka Niso in the 27th minute while Wojem picked up his second in the 37th minute to lead 3-1 at the break. 

Sensing the game slipping away, Momase put up a late fight back with Junior Sasu, Chris David and Gabriel Kanamon denying their opponents any more chances after the slight error that cost them dearly earlier. And surely, Momase, with some classy footwork and touches in the centre, saw Arisib picking up his double of the afternoon to narrow the gap 3-2. 

At that point, the game seemed to be heading for a classy showdown, only to find Maclaren finding the answers – and it paid at a crucial time – Poesi’s classy tap to Bondaluk, who found an opening to slip his shot past Ivara, leaving him stunned. The goal was enough to seal victory. 

Coach Lua Vagi said despite the win, there was still room for improvement. “Right now we are trying to put our wins together, which means working on rough patches and getting our combination right. We became runners-up last season. This season, we want to go all the way, (winning the title),” Vagi said.    

With minutes ticking away, Momase hit back again. This time Arisib showed a glimpse of his class, driving, weaving and sneaking past several of his opponents before carving a clinical right footer past Maclaren goalkeeper David Auka. Despite the 70th minute effort, it was Maclaren who had the last laugh.

Results: Yamaros 1 Cosmos 1, Blue Kumuls 1 Rapatona 1, Uni Inter 1 Global Sea Eagles 1, Golo 2 Mungkas 1.