Sokattak face first challenge

Reigning soccer champions Sokattak will face their first challenge of the new season from Arorangi today.

The main soccer match kicking off at 4.30pm will be between Nikao Sokattak and Arorangi Premier Men’s at the Nikao soccer field. Nikao Sokattak were last year’s round cup champions and they have been the club champions for the last two seasons, so to beat this team will be a challenge.

Rumour has it that the usual Sokattak outfit were not in full training mode this week and the team is likely to go into this game with a few U17 players.

Arorangi have been seen in training a few weeks ago and are in good form so they could seize this opportunity to win the opening match this weekend. This team was a threat all season last year and the year before with their unorthodox style of football that can upset any team if the opposing team is not careful.

This is Arorangi’s chance to grab the opportunity to establish its first win over the once fancied Nikao Sokattak.

With the absence of Nikao’s main defenders in the likes of Nathan Tisam, Lee Ponini and Romeo Keu, this will be a concern to coach Alex Napa but you never know, Sokattak is a champion club with a number of experienced international players likely to take the field in this game today, which can cause problems for Arorangi because Sokattak are known to play smarter using the ball and space more efficiently rather than using force.

On the other hand, for Arorangi to beat this Sokattak outfit, they will need to use their fitness and quick ball passing skills to keep their opponents off guard so they can score. The strategy is to constantly pressure Nikao’s fragmented line of defence with quick balls into the goal area until it gives way.

Sokattak’s only hope of holding off this strong Arorangi side is to ensure ball possession and have the game played in Arorangi’s half as much as possible, as failure will put them on their back heel throughout the game.

For soccer fans, this game promises to be a heated contest and no doubt the vocal Nikao supporters will be out in force as usual to support their village team, just to push them along for a win.

In the women’s match, the Arorangi womena team was last year’s champion and it will be a tit-for-tat for Nikao to attempt to beat this champion team with few new faces appearing at training this week. Prediction – unless Nikao women can come up with new tricks, Arorangi women should establish their first win for this season.

In today’s other games, Matavera will host Takuvaine at the CIFA Complex. Good luck to all teams launching their season today.