New-looking Lae City: what comes next?

It was widely reported that head coach Peter Gunemba is not Lae City’s head coach anymore. However he was not the only one who is gone as lots of players left the team alongside the coach Gunemba.

Former Lae City’s captain and Peter’s son Raymond Gunemba has already told that Lae City Dwellers must be revived so it is very probable that we will see two different teams from Lae in the next National Soccer League.

SEE MORE:
Raymond Gunemba: we are bringing Lae City Dwellers back
Lae City: who left and who stayed?

The whole situation was quite stormy and it could affect Lae City directly in the 2019-20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League but things did not become worse because all football activities were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anyway it is obvious that there is light at the end of the tunnel – Bob Morris was appointed as the new head coach and experienced Emmanuel Simon was named the new team captain. Other known players like Philip Steven, Jacob Sabua and Joshua Oscar have also remained in the team.

While many important players left the club, there are another good ones that have arrived to strengthen Lae’s squad like the Komolong brothers Felix and Alwin. Felix has already debuted for his new team in the 1-1 draw against Tusbab Stallions on March 14th.

Two goalkeepers arrived to replace Ronald Warisan and Matheson Nasa who left the team alongside Peter Gunemba. Jordan Tobem and Charles Lepani are the newest keepers in the squad while Ishmael Maddang was the starting keeper in Lae’s last official match. Young and talented defender Nigel Malagian came from Tusbab Stallions and made his debut against his former team.

There are also rumours that a third player from Ecuador could be joining the team for the second half of the National League but there are no official confirmation about that.

Good players arrived to strengthen the team’s defense but it seems that the new-looking squad might be facing some offensive problems as they will count on some remaining players that have been warming the bench in the first half of the league – “Basically it is a new team […] It has a lot of potential compared to the old one,” explained head coach Bob Morris.

Well it is clear that Lae City faced a huge storm but it seems that it is gone. Now it is time to think about the future, and it is look brightful.