Strikers unfazed: Manub

By BENJAMIN KOITAKA
THE Southern Strikers are aiming to take the game to Hekari United when they meet in round three of the National Soccer League Southern Conference at the Sir John Guise Stadium tomorrow (5pm kick-off).
The Strikers have a win and a loss so far in the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited-sponsored competition, while Hekari remain undefeated.
Despite what seems like a tall order, Strikers manager Gordon Manub said they were desperate for a win against the Jerry Allan-coached side.
“We will give Hekari a good game. We have a few surprises up our sleeves,” Manub said.
“We lost (1-0 to Central United)last week and Hekari are undefeated but we are prepared to take them on.
“We have a game plan in place.”
Manub said the Strikers were looking to break Hekari’s winning run.
“Our preparations are going well,” he said.
“We only have a few injuries.
“We’ve made several adjustments and improvements from last week’s match.
“Our midfielders Joseph Waiwai and Sylvister Wanim will look to lead the players. Our striker Renagi Taviri missed some good opportunities last week and he will need to improve against Hekari.
“Our goalkeeper Ila Tene and the backline are ready to hold out Hekari.”
Allan said his players were injury-free and were ready to maintain their perfect record against the development side.
“We are looking forward to registering three wins from as many matches this weekend,” the Solomon Islander said.
“They will come out hard, as they lost last week.
“Our captain (David Muta) is ready to take the field and lead the players to victory.
“At training this week, we talked about the areas we were poor in and I think we are fully equipped to do some damages.
“The Strikers have identified their areas of improvement and are aiming to give us a good challenge.
“We won two and they (Strikers) lost one, so they’ll be strong.
“But I expect our skipper to control the game.”