It was a happy homecoming for Bula FC, as they marked their first-ever match on home soil with a narrow 1-0 victory over PNG Hekari FC in Ba.
The home side started the afternoon inside the top four and knew victory would push them up to third, putting pressure on South Melbourne FC, who had been beaten earlier in the day.
In front of a noisy and expectant crowd, Bula FC started well – spending much of the early stages camped inside the PNG Hekari FC half.
Nabil Begg was the first to go close, when his stinging effort from the edge of the box was saved well by Dave Tomare, before the ever-threatening Kaile Auvray forced the ‘keeper into a low save, which he gathered at the second attempt.
PNG Hekari FC were intermittent with their forays forward, but couldn’t sustain any pressure and were unable to trouble Bula FC goalkeeper Didier Desprez.
Stephane Auvray made one change at the break, bringing on Zacariah Harang for Nabil Begg, as he looked to take advantage of their dominance in possession.
It was PNG Hekari however that came closest to opening the scoring in the early stages of the half. Rex Naime broke clear down the right flank, but his clipped cross was headed over by John Orobulu when totally unmarked in the area.
It was a miss that would haunt Jerry Allen’s side, who were undone just after the hour mark.
Roy Krishna smartly created space for himself, before sliding a through ball for Adam Supyk to latch on to – the defender firing under Tomare and into the back of the net.
The effort was initially ruled out for offside, but a brief VAR check deemed Supyk to be onside and the locals erupted for Bula FC’s first-ever goal on home soil.
Jerry Allen responded by bringing on Nathaniel Eddie, followed by Logan Biwa and Kasum Gabriel from the bench, in hopes of stirring a comeback as the heavens opened above Govind Park.
Clear-cut chances for an equaliser were few and far between however, as PNG Hekari chased the game.
Delon Shankar almost skewed the ball into his own net in the act of conceding a corner – a corner-kick that led to Joseph Joe rifling an effort over the bar from a narrow angle as Bula FC managed to hold on and secure a valuable three points.
Bula FC: 1 (Adam SUPYK 63′)
PNG Hekari FC: 0
HT: 0-0
Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek