The local derby at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium was a must win clash for the Gigira Laitepo-sponsored Morobe franchise who should make the finals of the Telikom sponsored competition given they have been in the top four since the third week of the competition.
All the goals scored were in the first half and the boys from the 11 Mile-based Papua New Guinea Football Academy opened the scoring through the boot of Maskulan Pulung.
Pulung showed a deft pair of feet when he moved the ball effortlessly past Morobe goalkeeper Enoch Naime for a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.
A stunned Morobe regrouped with skipper Fugre and Jacob Sabua taking control of the mid-field, redirecting most of their play in the central channel to put Hanson Topio through for the equaliser five minutes later.
Fugre then took matters into his own hands extending the lead to 2-1 and taking the lead for the first time. The second half was an arm-wrestle as both sides failed to take their half chances.
Defensively, both sides doubled their efforts. Morobe were content with the status quo holding the lead, and it was Besta who needed to be creative on attack to break the Morobe defence, something which they came close to doing but could not accomplish.