NPL final spots up for grab

THE final two spots in the Southern Conference of the National Premier League (NPL) are up for grabs, if the performance by teams on the weekend is an indication.
The highlight of the weekend was the opening match between two Central teams – Papaka and Amoana (Koupa).
The boys from Babaka village put on a strong fight to post a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Kaparoko village team.
Amoana were leading 1-0 in the best part of the first half and put Papaka in a lot of trouble.
However, Papaka coach David Aua, with his cool approached, made timely changes which paid the dividends.
The injection of Rupa Emil, the son of former Kumuls player, the late Aquila Emil, midway through the game was a great gamble. The part Babaka and New Ireland was the toast of the team when he scored the equaliser from a Tau Winnie kick.
Winnie, who returned from injury, was in the thick of things setting play up front and providing the much-needed attack for his team.
Winnie sailed a good ball over Amoana goalkeeper who failed to glove it and it bounced off to find an ever-ready Emil on spot who equalised.
The second half was tense but was well-controlled by referee Hola Michael.
The game see-sawed and Winnie scored the winning goal ending Amoana’s chances to play for the finals.
With two more games before the finals, Amoana must win by big margins against their opponents to gamble for a spot.
Aua, the former PNG goalkeeper, had his cool knowing that his charges would come back to win the match.
The second match saw a near upset when Admiralty midfielder Shane Sakael beat Hekari defenders to slided the ball past the new goalkeeper from Bougainville Paul Tomare to take the lead 1-0.
However, Hekari as usual did not bother about the goal and kept their heads down to play.
Sensing the game was slipping away, the David Muta-led team started using the fast strikers in Tommy Semmy and Ati Kepo to  win the match.
Tommy equalised with a good strike after beating Admiralty defenders while Ati survived a heavy knock to remain on the field to score the winning goal from a Koriak Upaiga cross.
The main game saw Erema continue their winning run for the finals with a 3-1 victory over PKA Rapatona.
Meanwhile, the mid-week clash for Wednesday (June 6) will see Erema take on Admiralty, Rapatona will play Papaka and Amoana will challenge Hekari.