The flamboyant Gas Resources Central Dabaris have displayed a clinical performance to thrash the hapless Mount Hagen Eagles with a comprehensive 38-14 victory during the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup round 15 clash on Sunday, July 28th, 2024, at Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.
The match started slowly in the early proceedings, with both sides making silly ball-handling errors. However, in the 18th minute, the Dabaris executed a sleek second-man play, which found hard-running second-rower Lega Batia, who received a shot pass from half-back Lote Kuman and ran through a gaping hole to score an untouched try.
After that four-pointer by Batia, with a successful conversion from Kuman, the Dabaris went firing on all cylinders in the ensuing sets, scoring four more unanswered tries to take a comfortable 26-0 at half time.
The Gas Resources-sponsored outfit kept the momentum rolling in the second stanza. Five-eight Justin Yoka dummied and made a line break in the 46th minute and did a no-look flick pass but the ball deflected off the Eagles’ player, which saw fullback Stafford John scoop up the loose ball and ran past the 20 meter-line to assist Batia for his second try, extending the lead to 30-0.
With a little bit of possession, the Eagles finally registered their first try through fullback Dickson Pipi in the 50th minute. However, that moment of relief was short-lived as the Dabaris capitalized on the Eagles’ error to score under the uprights through winger Douglas Pirika in the 62nd minute.
The remaining 18 minutes was a tight arm wrestle. The Dabaris made a couple of attempts to widen the margin, but the Francis Ray-coached side held their composure and stayed in the fight to eventually score a consolation try, leaving the full time scores at 38-14.
This win gave the Dabaris a sigh of relief and pushed them to the 5th spot with 18 points, while the Eagles sit on the third position with 20 points. The race to stay in the top 6 intensifies as the 12 teams battle to secure their spots in the playoffs.
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