By: Issabella Narapal
Pom Strikers Football Club edged out NCD Football Club with a 2-1 victory in Round 21 of the Premier Soccer League yesterday at the PNG Football Stadium.
After a defensive breakdown allowed NCD Football Club to equalize at 1-1 in the second half, Pom Strikers showed true resilience by regrouping and scoring the tie-breaking goal just a few minutes before full time.
Pom Strikers coach Gordan Manub highlighted the tie-breaking goal as a result of the players capitalizing on an opportunity to score.
“We didn’t know whether we could win after they equalized. The only thing that we did was change our formation because we had a lot of injuries, and we made certain substitutions that we shouldn’t have made. But what we did was try to put everybody together and beat them in the middle to get the ball.”
“But the goal, I would say we didn’t expect the goal. It was, what would I say, I won’t say luck, but we had that opportunity where we had people at the right time with the ball that enabled us to score the goal,” said Coach Manub.
He also acknowledged NCD Football Club for giving them tough competition and praised their determination and resilience on the field.
“We played against a very young, energetic NCDFA team. I think they’re one of the most improved teams this season. Basically, I would say they gave us a run for our money.”
“I think NCD probably should have deserved to win because they were the better team on the park today,” said Coach Manub.
Meanwhile, NCD Football Club coach Lovejoy Ndiniso commended his players for their strong performance against Pom Strikers.
He said Pom Strikers had previously defeated them 7-1, but in this match, the players performed much better, with the score reflecting how much they have improved as a team.
“First round we played against the Pom Strikers, they beat us 7-1, and today our boys were quite good. The score can tell that our boys have improved as a team. Still our first season, but my boys are quite getting there,” said Coach Ndiniso.
