Upaiga leads Reds to win

 By HENRY MORABANG

STRIKER Koriak Upaiga scored a double for Hekari United as they outclassed Gigira Laitepo United 4-2 in the first round of National Soccer League for the Southern Conference at Bisini Sports Complex on Saturday.

Playing for the first time up in the front at the semi-professional level, Upaiga was confident that he would find the net at the weekend.

Hekari coach Jerry Allen, who had to rush the Western Highlander to the frontline after regular Tommy Semmy was injured during the trial match against Port Moresby last week, was happy about his new-found striker.

Allen, who monitored Upaiga’s striking ability during the Besta Cup where he scored 13 goals for NCDPSSA, was convinced of his ability and prowess.

Upaiga said after the match that he was very happy with his performance, scoring two goals, and was looking forward for more goals in the coming matches.

“Hopefully the performance against Gigira can convince him to replace the regular strikers if they are not up to form,” he said.

Upaiga scored in the 60th and the 65th minutes to cushion their lead 4-1 before Gigira Laitepo United made the scoreline respectable 4-2 through striker Theo Sergius.

The match was evenly-contested for only 15 minutes in the opening half but the rest was dominated by Hekari. 

With the home ground advantage plus their match fitness, they had Gigira players chasing the ball all afternoon.

In the early match, Huawei PS came from a 2-1 deficit at half time to beat Port Moresby 3-2.

The match was a real test for Port Moresby, who had to play the entire 90 minutes with nine players after their goalkeeper Charles Lepani was red-carded for a professional foul.

The full results for Round One:

Southern Conference: Huawei 3 Port Moresby 2, Hekari United 4, Gigira 2, Rapatona 2, Erema 1

Northern Conference: Welgris 1 Admiralty 0, Besta 2 Madang 0, Dwellers 7, Goroka 0