In a closely contested round 8 match of the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup, the Wamp Nga Mt. Hagen Eagles defeated the Kroton Hela Wigmen with a 14-12 scoreline on Sunday, June 2nd, 2024, at Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.
This round 8 match saw the Eagles claw their way to victory, despite the Wigmen's attempts to resist them in the neck-and-neck challenge.
The Eagles scored three tries through Henry Noki, Desmond Michael in the 30th minute, and Dickson Pipi in the 13th, 30th, and 39th minutes respectively, with one successful conversion by Melix Winis.
The Wigmen scored two tries and successful conversions taken by hooker, Trevor Solu. Solu also added a 2-point penalty to equalise the scores, but failed to convert another penalty, giving the game to Mosley Tika, who won the game with his successful penalty conversion in the 76th minute.
Eagles’ coach, Francis Ray, commended the boys for their impressive execution of the game plan, especially their strong defence earned them the 2 points.
“I’m really impressed with the win today. The boys played really well, especially on defence. We held on until the last minute and won the game,” said coach Ray.
Ray also acknowledged the errors the boys made, stating: “Our game discipline – we gave away a lot of penalties.”
He said they would work on the mistakes in training during the week and mentioned that they would work harder to maintain their defensive performance.
“Playing against the Wigmen is always a tough game, but we were fortunate to win due to our well-executed defensive play,” Ray said.
The Wigmen gave the Eagles a run for their money but did not hold their ground until the last minute. Coach Seth Ripp said the team gave the game away because of their own failures.
“It was a really good game, but it was our own mistakes that we gave the game away,” said coach Ripp.
Ripp added that they would fix their attacking and defensive structures, as well as game management during their week of training.
The Eagles will face off against the Moni Plus NCDC Pom Vipers at John Albane Oval in Minj, Jiwaka on Saturday, June 8th, and the Wigmen will go head-to-head with the Bintangor Goroka Lahanis on Sunday, June 9th at NSI, Goroka.
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