by Jeremy Mogi – EM TV Sports, Port Moresby
The second part of the regular season of the Telikom National Soccer League will resume on the 9th of January 2016.
And currently in the southern conference, Hekari United are 8 points clear at the top, followed by Erema FC.
In the Northern, little surprise with Lae City Dwellers, although, local rivals, Welgris, are a single point behind, on second place.
The northern conference has proved a more difficult proposition for defending champions Lae City Dwellers.
Draws against Welgris and Admiralty have slowed down their meteoric opening tally, scoring only three more goals after an 8-1 thrashing of Goroka Gosiha on match day 1. Welgris have been riding on familiarity. After sitting out last season, the team are now regrouping, but have been far from convincing, with only seven goals in five matches.
Madang FC has yet to reach their own form as well. A loss and two draws have set them back from reaching the second stage, and while there are five more matches remaining, they will need three straight wins to put them in contention.
Admiralty and BESTA are still in contention, but wins will also be far more important, especially for second place in the southern conference.
Hekari are dominating and need only six points from two wins to qualify for the second stage.
And that leaves all the other five clubs battling it out for that crucial second spot, as currently Rapatona and Erema are level on seven points, Gigira in fourth 2 points behind, and FC Port Moresby and PS further down.
However, only three points separate those five teams, and the next few matches in the new year, will be interesting, and much more crucial than before.
