Kula's Dream Shattered

The Fiji Kulas campaign of winning the OFC Women's Nations Cup came to an abrupt halt when they were beaten 2-1 by Papua New Guinea in the semi-final at Suva's HFC Bank Stadium.

PNG captain and player of the match Ramona Padio told SUN­sports the win was special because they had beaten the host nation.

"We knew it would be a very tough game but we just stuck to our gameplan," she said.

The visitors drew first blood in the 25th minute from a Carren Calapai goal and seven minutes later Padio extended the lead to 2-0. Fiji pulled a goal back in the 33rd minute from Narieta Leba.

The gamble made by Kula head coach Angeline Chua to play 18-year-old goalkeeper Emily Espocito backfired as she lacked the experience especially during pressure games.

Trailing 1-2 at halftime, the Kulas failed to find their mojo as Chua opted to stick to their defensive line-up of 6:3:1.

Action between Fiji Kulas and PNG during the OFC Women's Nations Cup semi-final at the HFC Stadium, Suva. Photo: Josua Buredua

PNG star striker Marie Kaipu pounced on loose balls from the Kulas' lazy passes to set-up their attacks.

"We are the defending champions and we showed why. We wanted to score more goals but time was up. One more job to go," Padio said.

She said it was a great feeling to see PNG supporters come out in numbers to cheer them on.

"It felt like home when hear them cheering us. We played our hearts out and we will continue to do so to achieve our goal," she added.

Veteran Kula defender Naomi Waqanidrola was disappointed with the loss.

"We tried our best but PNG was the better team. The fans, the players were great, vinaka vakalevu (thank you)," she said.

The second semi-final between Solomon Islands and Samoa was going on when this edition went to press last night.

Feedback: josua.buredua@fijisun.com.fj