drew 4–4 with Eastern Stars amid some 'pathetic' refereeing, a result which damaged Stars' title hopes while boosting Gigira's playoff hopes. A week later, Gigira secured a shock 1–0 win over champions Hekari, but would later have the result overturned to a 0–3 defeat after it was discovered they had fielded an ineligible player. In fact, four of Gigira's fixtures – including two more wins, against Besta PNG and Madang Fox – were later overturned for the same reason, with side slumping from playoff hopefuls to league basement dwellers. Elsewhere, Besta PNG United began to revive their season with back-to-back wins, including 2–0 win over Tukoko University on 29 January, which took them into February in fourth place. On 12 February, with Eastern Stars having closed the gap once again to just one point, Hekari – who now had two games in hand – defeated their closest rivals 2–1 to all but end the fight to be crowned 'Minor Premiers'. Midweek, the four-time champions dropped their first and only points of the season with a 1–1 draw against a revitalised Besta PNG United. Eastern Stars kept up the pressure, though, while Hekari were away in OFC Champions League action in late February. They defeated Petro Souths 2–1 on 19 February, and won 3–2 against Besta PNG United the following weekend to go top of the league for the first time in the season. With one game to go, they were ahead of Hekari by a single point with 23; however, the reigning champions still had four matches still to play. On what ought to have been the final weekend, both Hekari and Eastern Stars won, meaning Hekari needed just one point from their final three matches to secure the Minor Premiership. A double header against Madang Fox on 12–13 March resulted in two victories, 3–2 and 8–0, which meant their final scheduled match against Tukoko University was scrapped. It was the first time in National Soccer League history that a side had gone through the regular season unbeaten. In the playoffs, Hekari withstood some early resilience from Besta PNG United before eventually cruising to a 5–1 victory, while Eastern Stars secured their place in the Grand Final with a 3–1 win over Tukoko University. However, Stars were unable to prevent Hekari from surging to their fifth straight title, with the defending champions winning 4–0 to again reinstate their dominance of