Quarterfinals moved to Jan 14

THE National Soccer League quarterfinals has been deferred by a month due to the unavailability of flights for the Buka and Kimbe teams and tribal fights in Mt Hagen, competition manager Ahmjad Tekwie says.
He told The National yesterday that the competition department was forced to move the quarterfinals to Jan 14. The semifinals will be on Jan 18 and the grand final on Jan 21.
Tekwie said while it was disappointing for the playoffs to be deferred a third time, player’s welfare and safety remained a priority.
“We had initially booked with Air Niugini to bring both teams this week but due to downgrading of some of their flights, they offloaded some passengers which affected our bookings,” Tekwie said.
Kimbe Eagles and Panguna Metals were scheduled to take on Gulf Komara and Hekari United respectively in Port Moresby’s double header quarterfinal on Saturday at the PNG Football Stadium. Lae Natives were scheduled to battle for a semifinal spot in Goroka while defending champions Lae City take on Mt Hagen’s Kuri in Lae.
“We wanted to play the finals on Dec 17 so that (cancellation of booking) affected that plan for the New Guinea Islands and Southern teams,” Tekwie said.
“For the Highlands and Northern conference, initially we moved the games to Goroka (National Sports Institute) due to concerns raised on the standard of the field up in Kimininga (in Mt Hagen).
“That has since been deferred due to a recent civil unrest between three different tribes (according to Kuri FC) which has affected the bus system and players from both teams (Kuri and Ape Aporo).
“We don’t want to put strain on any of the teams nor put any of the players or management in harm’s way so it is mainly for that reason so we have decided to push the finals to mid-January.”
Meanwhile, Tekwie said the PNG Football Association would assist the affected clubs during the extended period. “We will at best support the clubs in whatever capacity we can during the break but the onus is on the players to maintain their fitness” he said.