Mt Hagen Eagles upset Port Moresby Vipers to get first win

MT Hagen Eagles registered their first victory of the season with a 20-18 upset win over Port Moresby Vipers 20-18 in round three of the Digicel Cup in Port Moresby on Saturday.
The Billy Noi Jr-coached side led the Vipers 10-8 at halftime before they scored two more tries after the break to claim the two points at the Oil Search National Football Stadium.
The Vipers countered with two more tries by winger Benjamin Yei and halfback Karis Peter, but the Eagles held firm as No.6 Garry James sealed the visitors’ victory with a runaway four-pointer minutes from fulltime.
Noi praised utility back Jero Kunda for providing the assist which led to the winning try against the Leonard Tarum-coached hosts.
“We have a young team,” he said.
“We are grateful to Kunda for stepping up at the right time. But we still have a lot of areas to work on.”
Meanwhile, Tarum said it was just the third match and his players were still working on their combinations.
“We have to continue improving,” he said.
“We ran away with the lead but in the end, we just gave the game away.
“(But we will) work on building the experience of our young players.”