Morobe franchises slump to visitors

By GABRIEL LAHOC
PETRO Souths and Gigira Laitepo Central came, saw and conquered Lae soccer leaving local fans at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium disappointed after round six of the Telikom National Soccer League (NSL) on Saturday.
Following the ethnic uprising two weeks ago and the consequent deferral of last weekend’s sporting activities in Lae, local franchises NBS Tukoko University and MMJV Bulolo United failed to cheer local fans when they fell to the visitors.
Petro Souths beat Tukoko University 2-1 in the opening match, while Central’s sharp shooter Tau Winnie scored a hat-trick against a Bulolo outfit which failed to register any goals.
University’s loss was generally a reflection of the team trying to find its balance especially with several new signings yet to find their feet and the side looking flat as a result.
The first half saw both sides getting within range of the opposition goals only to come up short until Souths’ striker Steven Agunan scored just before the halftime break for a 1-0 lead.
Peter Tawela added Souths second goal fifteen minutes into the second half.
Uni’s Sowera Guti capitalised on some good lead-up work to hit back for the home side in the 61st minute to trail 2-1 which they held until fulltime.
Riding on their astounding draw against champions Hekari United in their last match, Central Coast started off strongly against Bulolo, whose players failed to finish off several opportunities which presented themselves during the course of the game.
Bulolo midfielder Moses Sine and defender Mathew Young with their previous NSL experience could not muster the right attack, while fullback Nobby Pambel’s injury-induced exit opened doors for Central attackers to penetrate.
Central’s toast obviously was striker Winnie, whose first goal in the first half and the couple in the second half made a mockery of the Bulolo defence.
Winnie, whose highest number of goals scored in a match is five, dedicated the win to Central’s fans around the country particularly in Lae.
Bulolo coach and former international John Peka, whose repeated cries to “stay in the game”, said the team’s organisation in the midfield and backline was well below par.
“Our coordination and game discipline was not there.
“Our ability to focus and concentrate on the job at hand was  just not there and caused our downfall,” he said.
However he was confident that his team dominated by rural-based players would improve as the NSL season wore on.