MSG Cup heads into semi-finals

Fiji men's national team taking on Vanuatu in final round game at PNG Football Stadium (Image: MSG Media)

With all pool matches completed, the MSG Prime Ministers Football Cup now shifts into the semi-finals this week in Port Moresby.

The women’s semi-finals will take place tomorrow at the Sir John Guise Stadium, while the men’s semi-finals are scheduled for Thursday at the PNG Football Stadium.

In the women’s division, the PNG senior team PNG Gold topped their pool after a commanding 4–0 win over Vanuatu. They will face the Solomon Islands, who finished second in their pool after a narrow 2–1 loss to the Fiji Kulas yesterday.

The Fiji Kulas, who topped their pool with wins over the Solomon Islands and PNG Red, will meet Vanuatu in the other semi-final.

Kulas coach Angeline Chua said her team must sharpen their finishing ahead of the knockout stage.
“One of the main areas we need to work on is our finishing. If we can get that right, we can perform much better than how we are performing right now,” she said.

For the men’s competition, PNG Gold [Kapuls] will take on Fiji, while Vanuatu, coming off a strong win yesterday, will face the Solomon Islands, who went down to PNG in their final pool game.

Kapuls coach David Muta, guiding the defending champions, will rely on captain Raymond Gunemba and his senior players to push for another title, this time on home soil.

Both PNG Red men’s and women’s development teams have been eliminated, but their coaches, Susan Steven [women] and Harrison Kamake [men], praised their players for their gallant efforts against the senior national sides from Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji.