It was double celebrations for the Port Moresby Soccer Association whose men’s and women’s sides lifted the cup following two thrilling finals.
The women triumphed after a 4-3 penalty victory over Kimbe after being locked scoreless in the final.
Goalkeeper John Bai became the hero in the men’s match when he broke the deadlock with a crucial save to give Port Moresby a well-earned 5-4 victory.
Three-times champions Lae were working towards a fourth title in a row and would have been granted their wish if Bai had not blocked the shot that eventually made the difference. The cup finals were played in the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae.
The win by the men from the capital city was just reward after spending eight years in the soccer doldrums when they missed out on playing in many Papua New Guinea Football Association-sanctioned tournaments.
Coached by former international representative Francis Moyap, the PMSA side started the match in fine style as their midfielders launched a barrage of attacks at the LFA defence.
They put Lae goalkeeper Ronald Warisan to the test but the Lae side stood their ground and held out until half-time. The second stanza was all Lae as they dominated possession and launched numerous attacks through Raymond Gunemba, Emmanuel Simon and Alex Kamen.
But Bai was equal to the challenge and repeatedly thwarted the attacks with courageous saves, a performance he repeated in the penalty shoot-out. Coach Moyap said after the game that Lae was the better side on the field.
But his men followed his instructions by containing Lae’s danger men in Gunemba and Simon. Captain Michael Foster, Richard Pono and Junior Sashu and Bai played their hearts out and deserved the champion’s prize, he said.
Lae’s Peter Gunemba praised PMSA for the win. He lamented that it was just not their day despite outplaying PMSA in the second half. “(But) we were not able to convert the opportunities into goals,” the disappointed Gunemba said.
The PMSA men and women walked away with the trophies and K20, 000 each.
Second-placed Lae (men) and Kimbe (women) each received K15, 000, Goroka (men) and Lahi (women) received K10, 000 each for finishing third. Fourth place Koupa (men) and Goroka (women) ended up with K5, 000 each.