Kekei Soccer Club has claimed its first beach soccer title following a 9-6 win against Waikiki on Fisherman Island last week.
Head coach Veari Iga said they were looking forward to this final with good results shown throughout the year in the Moukele Beach Soccer Association competition.
“We were looking forward to winning this game and came prepared to compete against Waikiki. We had a good team spirit and unity that has been very effective throughout this season,” Iga said.
“We lost only one match this season but remained undefeated to claim the minor premiership title and now the premiership.”
He said the team stood out with their performance, however, it was their young goalkeeper Kenneth Ralewa, who defended countless goals from the opposing side despite playing in the full three periods of the finals. Ralewa was also the player of the match in the finals.
“Kenneth stood with his defense at the goal mouth, despite a lack of defense in our backline. He did great in this final,” Iga said of keeper Ralewa.
“What also inspired us to come this far was having three PNG Paewas’ players in the likes of Shane Gele, Ellygiah Bernard, our co-captains, and Demasol Manama, who scored the fastest goal in the OFC Beach Soccer History.
“Their performance at the international level inspired our team to push through to the finals and we claimed our first title.”
Meanwhile, in the third and fourth placings, the inaugural (2023) beach soccer champions Blessings SC led by Paewas skipper Kopi Samuel defeated Arigo 4-3 while Rapurulu claimed the fifth spot after defeating First Time SC 7-2 for the finals placings.
The Golden Boot was awarded to Rapurulu’s Kaybo Russel, who scored the most goals this season; the Golden Glove was awarded to Waikiki’s goalkeeper Gia David; and the Top Goal Assist was awarded to Ellygiah Bernard of Kekei.
Bernard was also the player of the match at the 2024 OFC Men’s Beach Soccer Nations Cup in the Solomon Islands when PNG stunned Fiji with an 8-6 win on debut.
PC: Supplied
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