Morobe, Moresby triumph

Reigning champs retain Besta FA Cup titles

THE Morobe Football Association were crowned Besta FA Cup men’s champions after retaining the title at Papua New Guinea Football Association-sanctioned tournament in Lae over the weekend.
It was a tough challenge for Morobe who fought through before advancing to the final against the much-fancied National Capital District Public Servants Soccer Association (NCDPSSA).
The final finished goalless at the end of regular time, forcing the match into extra time.
The first 10 minutes of extra time saw Kila Aisonie open the scoring for NCDPSSA.
However, their celebrations were short-lived when Morobe responded with an equaliser through Eddie Managu.
The second half of extra time was a tight contest. With the scores still unchanged, the match went to a penalty shootout.
Morobe made a brilliant save before scoring the winner to seal the title and walked away with K20,000 in prize money, while NCDPSSA settled for K15,000.
Finishing third, Hekari Soccer Association took home K10,000 and fourth-placed Hagen Central pocketed K5,000. In the women’s division, Port Moresby Soccer Association (PMSA) beat Morobe 3-1 in the final to retain the title. PMSA took home K20,000 for their efforts.
Morobe won K15,000 while NCDPSSA collected K10,000 for finishing third and K5,000 went to fourth-placed Madang Soccer Association.
Meanwhile, during the presentation of prizes, Papua New Guinea Football Association President John Kapi Natto thanked the International Food Corporation for supporting the competition under its brand name Besta for 12 years now.
However, he expressed disappointment to IFC for not turning up for the awards presentation.
“It would be more fitting if they presented the Cup to the winners because they sponsored the tournament,” Kapi Natto said.
“The Besta FA Cup is for all member associations and associate members throughout the country and open to all.
“Being here and following the competition for the past three days, I’ve noticed that the level of football skills displayed by the teams is high.”
He said it showed that there was consistency in the tournament at the member-association level.