Southern Strikers bag first win in thriller

By HUXLEY LOVAI
THE Southern Strikers claimed a thrilling 4-3 win over FC Morobe Wawens in their fourth-round clash of the National Soccer League in Port Moresby on Saturday.
Strikers winger Kenneth Arah was the two-goal hero for his team as the young Strikers outfit clawed their way back into the game after trailing 2-0 at halftime.
The first half was all Wawens as the Morobeans dominated the midfield, starving the Strikers of possession.
The young Papuans chased the ball for the majority of the half.
Wawens capitalised on their dominance with two well-worked goals via the boot of Joshua Gwae, who found the back of the net in the 38th and 41st minute of the match. Giving his side a comfortable 2-0 lead at halftime.
Out-hustled in the first half it looked like it would be a long afternoon for the Strikers but halftime provided time for the team to regroup.
The Strikers began the second half more composed as their mid-field began to match their Morobean opponents, pushing up in defence and attack.
Strikers scored their first goal through Pettyshen Elizah.
Minutes later however Wawens responded with their third goal when Philip Steven chipped the ball over the Strikers keeper Ila Pene.
That seemed to the final nail in the coffin for Strikers, but he youngsters refused to go down without a fight.
They continued to press Wawens, while having a greater share in possession. This paved the way for Arah’s two-goal effort.
Gregory Togubai sealed a memorable win for the Strikers with a free kick on the left corner of the opponents half, the ball slipping through the keepers hands and into the goal.
Strikers coach Margaret Aka praised her side for their fighting spirit in winning a tight encounter. But Aka said her side had to work hard to make sure they started better.
“We conceded two goals in the first half and that’s not good for us as a team, we had a good talk at half time,” Aka said.
“We came out and stuck to our game plan, at this level we have to always compete and not to be caught ball watching. It’s not park football anymore this is NSL, the players have to be on the top of their game for 90 minutes.
“No excuses for not putting in a good performance in the first half, there are a lot of areas we need to improve on,” Aka said.