Morobe United force draw with hosts Star Mountain

Morobe United and Star Mountain opened Port Moresby’s triple header of the Kumul Petroleum National Soccer League with a 2-2 draw at the Papua New Guinea Football Stadium on Saturday.
The round-three encounter saw a determined Star Mountain outfit, led by Tau Winnie and Zebedee Matang, take control with the men from Tabubil playing with purpose in the opening stanza before seeing midfielder Daniel Orim score for a 1-0 lead at halftime.
A recharged United responded with a change in momentum of the game.
The visitors scored via Emmanuel Simongi to restore parity.
But the match swung back in Star Mountain’s favour with Pettyshen Elizah scoring a crucial goal from inside Morobe’s penalty box to regain the lead.
Desperation by United saw them register a number of attempts on goal with fatigue creeping in for both two sides before flanker Gabby Yanum equalised for United late.
United coach was Samson Steven was pleased with his side’s performance despite the fact that his side had arrived in Port Moresby an hour before kick-off
“The boys did not settle in but we picked up well later in the game,” he said.
“We had a slow start in the game and we had to trail before forcing a draw.
“We had a few calls go against us but we stuck to our game plan and fought back.”