Northern, Highlands complete WNSL round 8 fixtures

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE Northern and Highlands Conferences of the Women’s National Soccer League completed their round-eight fixtures on Sunday with two more rounds to play before the finals.
Both conferences have agreed upon back-to-back matches following the Papua New Guinea Football Association executive committee’s decision to bring the remaining matches forward. The New Guinea Islands Conference will play their round-eight fixtures tomorrow while the Southern Conference have their triple-header spread out today, tomorrow and Thursday at 3pm.
Association general secretary Pius Letenge told The National that the committee made the decision to squeeze the games to avoid disruptions cause by the general election.
“In the recent executive meeting, the major concern was the issue of writs (on Thursday) which will see election campaigning start immediately,” he said.
“We’re concerned that election-related issues could affect our games and operations.
“Our concern is the safety of the women as Northern Conference teams will still be travelling.
“You never know what’s going to happen during the general election, and the risks that campaigning will pose. We’ve opted for this option to complete the women’s competition and finals as we don’t want this major event to affect the finals.” By next week, the remaining two rounds will be completed before the top-two teams in each conferences head into the quarterfinals. “If we were to follow the normal schedule, the season will end next month,” Letenge said.
“With concerns over the short turnaround and the high risk of players getting injured, medics and physiotherapists will be available during all matches in case of an emergency.” The top-two teams in each conferences will advance to the quarterfinals with the winners advancing to the semifinals while the losers bow out.
“The first-placed teams in each conferences will have the right as hosts in the quarterfinals,” Letenge said. The second-placed teams will be drawn as visitors to play the top teams in the quarterfinals. The semifinal winners will qualify for the grand final at a central location with the losers to play for third.”