Pepena hails side for resilience but laments missed opportunity

CENTRAL Dabaris coach Gairo Pepena praised his players’ resilience in Saturday’s 16-16 round-five Digicel Cup draw with Port Moresby Vipers at the Oil Search National Football Stadium.
Pepena told The National yesterday that unlike Saturday’s victory, his men had lacked mental toughness in the previous rounds.
“In our games against Hela Wigmen and Lae Tigers, we didn’t have that energy, there was no drive to stay in the contest and fight,” he said.
“We had a meeting and I highlighted those points in the game against Vipers last week.
“I think the players took note of it and they put it into action.
“I was proud of their efforts. That’s the kind of team spirit we want in the team and I want the players to continue the same approach for the remainder of the season.”
Pepena said it could have been a victory for his men had it not been for some crucial errors in the first half.
“We had enough opportunities to put more points in the first half and dominate the Vipers, but we just made too many unforced error,” he said.
“The Vipers punished us for those mistakes and they scored a couple of tries to lead for most of the game.
“I was disappointed that we allowed that to happen.”