Two goals midway through the second half gave Gaidi a comfortable 3-1 win over Netta in last night’s men’s football grand final of the Papaka Sports Association Cup.
Kicking off under lights at 7.45pm in Central, the game provided plenty of action with players from both sides eager to catch the eye of Team Manager of Hekari United FC, Vonnie Kapi Natto, who was there scouting for new talent.
It was Gaidi who struck first after Jack Karo opened the scoring in the first half to give his side the lead, going into the break.
Netta equalised minutes into the second half through the boot of Kila Polena, who powered one past the keeper.
With the game right back in the balance and the clock ticking down, it was going to take something special to turn scoring opportunities into points to break the deadlock.
This came for Gaidi in the middle of the second half when an unmarked Ryan Gerega pounced on a loose ball in Netta’s goalmouth. He slotted it into the nets to take back the lead.
Gaidi put the result beyond doubt just minutes later when Gerega’s cousin Willie scored his side’s third goal.
With all the momentum their way, Gaidi held their lead until the final whistle to win the match and make it a double celebration. This was after the Gaidi netball team won the netball grand final in the afternoon.
Gaidi walked away with K500 in prize money with runners up Netta taking K200.
The final team placings and prize money:
1. Gaidi (K500), 2. Netta (K200), 3. Me2 (K100), 4. Nuavi (K50), 5. U19 (K50), 6. GoKam (K50).