Vipers halt Mioks in tie

A TRY by Port Moresby Vipers’ forward Julius Yakopa in the final 10 seconds and a masterclass conversion from veteran Charlie Simon from the sideline forced an 18-18 draw to end Enga Mioks’ six-game winning streak yesterday.
The defending champions who led the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup in the last three weeks dropped to third spot following the stalemate to the Vipers at the National Football Stadium, while the Mt Hagen Eagles find themselves on top of the ladder after beating Goroka Lahanis 28-16 in Minj on Saturday.
Vipers got off to a strong start with Thomas Kuipa scoring a double in the opening 15 minutes. Two missed conversions by Vipers five-eighth Joel Gena saw them lead 8-0.
With momentum swinging in Mioks way in the second quarter of the game, it was apparent that they were going to score any moment, and they eventually did with two quick tries by winger Joshua Philip before half-time.
The Mioks gained the lead 12-8 at half-time with successful conversions from Kumul Kaupa. Billy Gau’s men started slow in the second-half with a few errors that gave Vipers good opportunities to level the scores when Vipers fullback Henry Marai crossed over in the corner. Gena missed his third conversion as the scores were locked at 12-12.
With 15 minutes remaining, Mioks regained the lead when Julius’ brother and front-rower Yomo Yakopa scored under the uprights.
Kaupa’s conversion saw Mioks led 18-12.
The final 10 minutes saw a lot of drama with both sides scuffling on three different occasions.
Pressure was mounting in the final two minutes and after four straight set restarts in favour of the Vipers by referee Leonard Allophones, the exhausted Mioks defence could not hold on as Julius scored for the Vipers in the final seconds.
Mioks coach Gau said his men would need to improve on their defence and attack if they wanted to progress in the season.