PORT MORESBY – Fijian import Lorima Dau was the hero for Hekari United Souths FC on Saturday as his last minute goal propelled his side to a 2-1 win over CMSS Tigers Rapatona FC in the Telikom National Soccer League.
In the other matches of the opening round Welgris Highlanders beat MACL Nabasa 3-2, while Gigira TL Morobe defeated Sepik FC 4-2.
The match between Universisty Inter FC and Eastern Stars FC was called off due to the heavy rain. The NSL board have yet to decide the dates for the washed out match.
Dau strode forward from his left back position for a last minute corner and rose the highest to nod the ball into the back of the net and give Hekari their first win of the season.
Hekari dominated the match with sharp passing and intricate movement but earned the win the hard way, coming back from a shock Tigers goal against the run of play.
Tigers midfielder Ken Gule found the Hekari defence napping when he slammed home the first goal with his right foot.
Following the goal Hekari midfielder David Muta started to get more ball possession and took control of the game. Hekari began to find their rhythm with Muta frequently looked to the wide players to penetrated the Tigers backline.
It wasn’t long before the Tigers defence was breached when Erikson Komeng sent the ball to Abraham Iniga who leveled the scores with a powerful header.
After the break, Hekari came out playing positively and looking dangerously on attack. Tigers also started sharply but were unable to provide good service for strikers Raymond Gunemba and Joel Keimelo.
It wasn’t until five minutes before full time that Dau slammed home the winning goal, much to the delight of the Hekari fans.
Hekari Souths United FC 2 – 1 CMSS Tigers Rapatona FC
Welgris Highlanders FC 3 – 2 MACL Nabasa
Gigira TL Morobe 4 – 2 Sepik FC