Tupapa Maraerenga coach Delany Yaqona says his side stuck to the game plan and overcame the wet, and at times windy, conditions well.
“We planned for what Tonga would bring and their particular type of game with the weather really played into their hands,” Yaqona says.
I’m so proud of my boys for adapting to the rain and playing smart football by keeping the ball at their feet. Once the boys settled down and started moving the ball things just came about.”
Both sides used the first five minutes to settle in but it was the Cook Islands side who struck first, much to the dismay of last year’s Golden Glove winner Soane Motekiai Faupula.
Inflicting the damage was Tupapa striker Campbell Best who had his initial shot saved by Faupula before slotting home the rebound to open the scoring.
The two sides rallied back and forth throughout the first half but heavy rain affected their ability to really capitalise on their chances.
The second period saw Tupapa continuing with the lion’s share of possession but it wasn’t until Yogana made the first substitution that his side really started to dominate.
Terii Framhein made way for Geoffrey Strickland who used his speed and agility to combine with Byron Paulus and first-half scorer Campbell Best and cause trouble for the Tongan defence.
With less than ten minutes on the clock Tupapa finally struck as Grover Harmon headed down a corner to extend his side’s lead in the 83 minute. Defender Hone Fowler then sealed the win for his side with another header from a corner in the 87 minute.
With very little time left to make a comeback Lotoha’apai continued to throw everything they had behind the ball couldn’t break down the solid Tupapa defence led by Mii Joseph.
“What I really like is that when times got really difficult they just stuck in and did their work and the goals eventually came,” Yaqona says.
His counterpart Lui Muavesi says he was disappointed to see his side struggle in the conditions as he had expected a much closer result.
“We play in Tonga with the rain but the game today was just bad luck and all our plans didn’t go right because of the rain,” Muavesi says.
We were thinking to have a good game today but this rain really spoiled our rhythm and trying to play our own game.
I feel sorry for my boys slipping over a lot but that’s all in the game. We have two more to go so will prepare to do well in those matches.”
The weather conditions continued to affect the second match of the day between Kiwi FC of Samoa and host side Pago Youth.
The game was scheduled to kick-off at 3pm but with heavy rain persisting a decision was made to postpone by 30 minutes, then one hour, before finally being rescheduled for tomorrow.
The two sides will now kick-off at 9am on Wednesday 16 October at Pago Park Soccer Stadium.
To see the Match Summary for Lotoha’apai United vs. Tupapa Maraerenga click here

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