The fifth round of football is well underway and Nikao Sokattak will host Tupapa Maraerenga. The Nikao premier men have been in good form to date while Tupapa seemed to have just found their form before the three-week break.
Nikao Sokattak’s men’s head coach, Alex Napa, spoke about his sides preparation over the break saying the long break may affect their performance in terms of tempo. “I think we have lost some consistency with our tempo and really need the tough matches to get our fluency going again. Tupapa is the most organized team in the CIFA competition, and we have tried to train to maintain a balanced shape, so this game coming up will be good indicator of how successful our trainings have been.”
“Our goal in the first round of matches is to engrain into our players the way we want to play our game regardless of the opponents. On our last match against Puaikura there were long periods of the match which showed that, and there were other periods which didn’t and put us in difficulty unnecessarily, but they were far and few.” Napa explained.
Heading into Saturday’s match of the week kicking off at 4pm, Tupapa Maraerenga will have a huge challenge ahead of them as a loss will put them in a tough position to come back to the top. The Rarotonga football giants have been hard at work training this week and will be hunting down a well needed win against Nikao Sokattak.
Kicking off the Nikao Sokattak v Tupapa Maraerenga match up with be the U14 Girls followed by the U14 Boys at 12:30pm and 1:30pm respectively. The match between the Nikao Sokattak and Tupapa Maraerenga senior women is set to be a thriller of a game and will kick off at 2:30pm.
Also, playing at the CIFA Complex this Saturday will be Avatiu and Matavera-Ngatangiia. In the premier men’s division both sides are still hunting their first win of the season and each side will be heading into the match hungry for the win. Kicking of the fixture between Avatiu and Matavera-Ngatangiia at 12:30pm will be the U14 girls followed by the U14 Boys at 1:30pm then the senior women at 2:30pm with the premier men playing at 4pm.
FIXTURES:
Saturday 21stSeptember, at the Nikao Field.
Nikao Sokattak FC vs Tupapa Maraerenga FC
12.30pm Under 14 Girls
Ref: Lai Gukisuva Assist:Teretia Teinaki, Ngametua Taringa
1.30pm Under 14 Boys
Ref: Tahiri Elikana Assist:Maara Kaukura, Ua Savage
2.30pm Senior Women
Ref: Lai Gukisuva Assist: Tione Nand, Junior Savage
4.00pm Premier Men
Ref: Maara Kaukura Assist:Edmund Tupuna, Tehainnah Tatuava
At the CIFA complex, Matavera
Avatiu FC vs Matavera FC
12.30pm Under 14 Girls
Ref: Kura Smith Assist:Nicky Smith, Eitiare Tangirere
1.30pm Under 14 Boys
Ref: Robert Savage Assist:Pierce Iripa, Penina Katuke
2.30pm Senior Women
Ref: Mata Iroa Assist:Kura Smith, Angelina Mitchell
4.00pm Premier Men
Ref:Robert Savage Assist: Mata Iroa, Pierce Iripa
