Young guns come good

BESTA PNG United second choice goalkeeper Jacob Senart will long remember the saves that helped his team cause an upset, defeating  CMSS Tigers 2-1 in the Telikom National Soccer League on Saturday.
Senart put on a man-of-the-match performance to pick up three points and the K200 award.
Despite being given a verbal barage by Tigers Jeremy Masalo, Senart brushed it off to keep his concentration ensuring Tigers Bruce Kusunan, Ian Yanum and Frank Tulum did not score.
With defenders Langarap Samor, Roland Bala and Philemon Yalu, the U20 team stood tall against the experienced CMSS Tigers outfit. Coach Mathew Vitu said after the match that despite the lack of experience in the team, the players’ commitment paid off with the well-deserved win against the second placed NSL team.
“I gave credit to all the boys but my second choice goalkeeper Senart stood out making several crucial saves,” he said.
The Besta PNG and CMSS Tigers game was delayed by one and half hour due to flight delays from Lae into Port Moresby.
Vitu’s young boys did not have good warm-up before the match but it was guts and determination that help the PNGFA Academy-based team to win the match.
At the 15 minute mark Besta midfielder Emmanuel Simon slammed the ball from outside the box beating hapless CMSS Tigers goalkeeper Anton Pipi.
That goal lifted the Besta United’s morale and they kept the Tigers attack at bay.
The Lae-based team defended their one point lead to the break.
In the second half, Besta continued their attack which saw Jamal Seeto set Emmanuel Yawi for a tap into the net for Besta’s second goal.
Leading 2-0, Besta United defended well to make the Tigers look like novices until Jeremy Masalo hit back to narrow the lead 1-2.
In the main match, Esiloan University InterFC sent out warning to other teams with a 4-1 drubbing of Gelle Hills.
A double from David Matanu in the opening half while Roniel Igens and Richard Matangau each goaled in the second stanza to put the Waigani-based franchise back into finals contention.
Gelle Hills were leading when fullback David Taro kicked a penalty through University wall-defence which deflected to beat keeper Albert Mesulam.
In Madang, Gigira Laitepo Morobe FC came from behind to force a 2-2 draw with NiuPetro Fox while in Lae Eastern Star FC, for the first time, recorded a big win in their NSL campaign by posting 3-1 win over Tukoko University at the Sir Ignatius Kilage stadium.
The unofficial ladder: Hekari United 25, Tigers 22, Gigira Laitepo Morobe 21, Gelle Hills 19, Tukoko Esiloan University 17, Tukoko University 15, Eastern Star 14, Niupetro Fox 6 and Besta PNG 6.