2014 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League

The 2014 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League season, known as the Telikom NSL Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the eighth edition of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League.

The title was won by Hekari United, who won their eighth and, to date, final title, after going unbeaten throughout the season and being awarded the title in the final after the match against Lae FC was abandoned due to crowd violence.

Teams

There were seven teams in the competition, one fewer than the previous season. The previous season's runners-up FC Port Moresby were excluded from the competition after failing to submit the necessary paperwork on time, with the club taking the PNGFA and the NSL to court over the whole procedure. Last year's debutants WNB Tavur were also excluded, while Welgris Highlanders withdrew. They were replaced by Admiralty FC from Manus Province, and Lae FC.

Format

Seven teams played in the league. During the regular season, teams played home and away, and the team at the top of the league after all matches were played was crowned 'Minor Premiers' and secured qualification for the 2014–15 OFC Champions League. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams advanced to a knockout competition, the winners of which were crowned Champions.

Summary

Due to FC Port Moresby's ongoing court case, the start of the season was delayed three times before eventually kicking off on 8 February 2014.

Morobe FC went top of the league after the opening weekend, having secured a 4–0 win over Lae FC while Hekari United could only draw with Eastern Stars. Two straight wins for Hekari propelled them to the top by the end of February, although Morobe were just a point behind with a game in hand.

March saw Hekari stretch their lead with three wins and two draws over five weekends giving them 18 points by the end of the month. Morobe maintained their position in second, although found themselves six points behind Hekari – with whom they had played out a 2–2 draw on 22 March – thanks to a 0–2 slip up against Oro FC on 8 March. Oro themselves sat third, level on points with Lae FC despite twice losing to the side from Lae during the course of the month. Admiralty FC and Besta PNG United sat four points off playoff qualification, with Eastern Stars last with four points, their only win to date a 2–1 victory over Lae.

With Hekari away at the start of April for the 2013–14 OFC Champions League group stage, the remaining teams had a chance to put pressure on the defending champions. However, Morobe could only draw both their games against Eastern Stars, with both matches ending 2–2. Oro drew level with Morobe after a win and a draw against Besta PNG United, while Lae's first match against Admiralty was abandoned at 89 minutes and replayed later once Hekari had already claimed the Minor Premiership. Lae went on to beat Admiralty 3–2 at home the following weekend.

Hekari returned from continental action, therefore, still four points clear at the top, and defeated Oro 5–0 on their return. The following weekend, Hekari claimed the Minor Premiership after a win against Lae FC combined with Morobe's 1–0 loss against Oro, giving them an unassailable lead with two fixtures to play. Morobe eventually slumped to 4th after Lae and Oro won all their remaining fixtures, and Morobe fell 3–1 to Premiers Hekari on the final day.

In the playoffs, Hekari reached their eighth consecutive final after a 2–0 victory against Morobe FC, while Lae FC made the final in their debut season with a battling 3–2 win over Oro FC. Morobe beat Oro after extra time in the third-place match, while the Grand Final, on 24 May 2014, was rife with incident. With Hekari leading 3–0 after 70 minutes, several Lae FC fans outside the arena fence started throwing stones at the Hekari United players, with Hekari goalkeeper Godfrey Baniau being hit several times. The match was abandoned, and Hekari were awarded the title after having the better regular season record.

Regular season

Championship playoff

Semi-finals

Final

References

{{2014 in Oceanian Football (OFC)

Papua New Guinea National Soccer League seasons
football
Papua