Visitors Eagles suffer 22-8 loss against Vipers at NFS

By SULI SULI
VISITORS Mt Hagen Eagles suffered an 8-22 loss to Moni Plus-sponsored Port Moresby Vipers in the opening round of the Digicel Cup at the National Football Stadium on Sunday.
The Eagles opened the scoring through centre Benji Ben one minute in, but the home side eventually reeled them in by fulltime.
Moments after the unconverted Eagles try, the Vipers responded with a cut-out pass from reigning fullback of the year John Stanley to winger Frank Tole who levelled the scores at 4-all.
The Eagles’ right edge were caught napping when Vipers debutant Manu Soli crossed for his first inter-city try.
Vipers five-eighth Yunny Patrick continued the momentum with a set play which saw the electric Tole dash away for a 90m try.
But a successful conversion by Patrick didn’t stop the Eagles from soaring high.
Ten minutes before halftime, Eagles recruit and former SP Hunter Joe Joshua crossed over to reduce the deficit to six points.
The Vipers took a 14-8 lead into halftime.
The Eagles’ hopes to hit back in the second stanza were shattered by the resilient Vipers defence.
Despite having a fair share of possession, a poor attack left the Eagles opening their season with an away loss.
Kuri said the Eagles would concentrate on fixing their attack for their round-two fixture against Mendi Muruks in Minj, Jiwaka, on Sunday.
“It’s just the basics (that let us down),” he said.
“We have to complete our sets of six.
“Our structures were not in place.
“We will work on these during the week.”