Sepik edge Rainy Lae

By LARRY ANDREW
A LATE Juanneth Mistera goal helped Sepik edge Rainy Lae 2-1 in round 11 of the Women’s National Soccer League Northern Conference at Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium on Saturday.
She scored all of the visitors’ goals to help them retain second spot ahead of Bara and Markham Raings who are in third and fourth respectively while Poro beat hosts Pacific Gardens 4-0 to stay on top.
The match between Rainy Lae and Sepik started on a high note with the hosts applying pressure from the get-go in the Morobe capital.
Rainy Lae’s early pressing saw Nerry Nirik open the scoring in the sixth minute after she pounced on a fumble by Sepik goalkeeper Rebecca Apiro.
Sepik re-grouped in attack with Leuvennah Karo and Sharlyn Jagi making inroads but were unable to score goals as Rainy Lae’s Zeena Toropoi, Hilda Rex, Bomele Hendigao and Fayleen Hendigao were resolute in defence.
It took Sepik almost 32 minutes to get off the mark with player of the match Mistera coming off the bench to score the equaliser.
The second half saw Rainy Lae and Sepik step up in defence and attack, however, both teams failed to convert their opportunities into points.
With the clock winding down and the game in the balance, Mistera beat her opponent and surged down the right before squeezing the ball past Rainy Lae goalkeeper Yakengo Onea for the winner in the 86th minute.
Meanwhile, Bara beat Morobe Tulip 1-0 and Markham drew 3-3 with Tusbab Laidamon.