Skipper hails City

By LARRY ANDREW
LAE City skipper Raymond Gunemba praised his men for fighting back to force a 1-1 draw with Kumul Petroleum National Soccer League leaders Hekari United at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium on Saturday.
Gunemba said after the game that their first-half performance was bit shaky but they managed to build their confidence in the second stanza with many chances going their way but a silly mistake saw Emmanuel Airem being shown a red card.
“We ended the game 1-1 with a man down so I’m happy with the performance of my men,” he said.
“After coming from the Oceania Football Confederation Champions League, we have stepped up and are preparing very well for our remaining games.”
Coach Peter Gunemba said the game was competitive with the country’s top-two teams playing their hearts out for a win.
He said his charges played well against Hekari, who were equally solid.
“The level of competition in the country is led by these two clubs and all the teams should rise up so that we can have a good competition in the country,” the coach said. “With Airem shown a red card, I feel bad but the rules of the game must be followed.
“I didn’t expect him to do that as he (Airem) is a good player.
“I congratulate both teams for a great performance.
“I’m proud of my players who played three quarters of the game a man down as they defended very well.”
The coach said he was happy with the draw.
With the second half of the season kicking of this weekend, he is confident of winning their remaining games to give themselves every chance of beating Hekari to the minor premiership.