Group A strugglers Koloale kicked off the high scoring with a shock 6-1 win over 10-man Lautoka in Fiji, just before Amicale and Hekari United fought out a dramatic 3-3 draw in Vanuatu. But that wasn’t the end of the eyebrow-raising results as Tefana took advantage of a two-goal lead to eventually post a 3-1 win over Waitakere in the round’s only Group A clash in Tahiti.
Lautoka went into their match as heavy favourites and for good reason – the Fijian champions were Group A leaders and Koloale were yet to earn a point from their three fixtures. The game seemed to be going according to the form book when Lautoka went ahead in the 10th minute, Valerio Nawatu thumping home a Sanni Issa cross.
But things began to unravel for coach Gurjit Singh’s men just minutes later when goalkeeper Jone Sorolo received his marching orders for a foul on Ian Paia in the box. Jeffery Bule made it 1-1 from the resulting penalty and it was all Koloale from then on as the visitors made use of their numerical advantage to post a morale-boosting win.
George Suri and Benjamin Totori made it 3-1 before the break and the latter went on to post a hat-trick in the second half, while Ezra Sale also got his name on the scoresheet.
Singh was disappointed at the heavy nature of the loss but remains upbeat about his side’s chances of earning top spot in the group.
“I believe the early red card proved costly for us as we had to play with ten men for about 80 minutes,” he says. “Despite the loss I think we still have a chance to qualify for the final if we win our next two matches.”
Koloale captain Benjamin Totori was delighted to have finally posted a win.
“I’m very proud of the boys,” he says. “Our game plan was just to enjoy the game and hope for a good outcome. We will now be focusing on our remaining matches and we hope for similar results.”
Play was much more even in the other Group A match as Hekari salvaged a point with two goals in the dying moments. Amicale went ahead in the 39th minute when Alick Maemae was fouled in the box by David Taro and dusted himself off to slot home the spot kick.
William Malas’ side appeared on track for a straightforward win when they went further ahead in the 51st minute through Dereck Malas. But Hekari had other ideas and were back in the game just seven minutes later when substitute Osea Vaketalesau made it 2-1.
Any hopes of a comeback appeared dead though as Fenedy Masauvakalo curled home a trademark free kick with just 16 minutes remaining. But Hekari again refused to lie down and forced Amicale into a nervous final few minutes when Vaketalesau notched his second in the 87th.
Malakai Tiwa then salvaged a draw with one of the last kicks of the game in injury time to keep his team’s hopes of retaining their O-League title alive.
That title is no closer to Waitakere’s grasp after their late attempt to come from behind against Tefana was not met with such success.
Player-coach Neil Emblen and his men were aiming to take advantage of the inactivity of Group B rivals Auckland City – who had to sit out this round after their clash with New Caledonia’s Magenta was postponed – and would have hoped for a better opening half hour than the one they received.
Waitakere had trained on North Harbour Stadium’s artificial pitch during the week to get used to the surface they would be facing in Tahiti and that preparation appeared to have had the desired effect as both sides saw plenty of the ball in a fast-paced start.
But Tefana, who were out for revenge after suffering a 3-1 loss away to Waitakere in round one last October, soon began to put United’s youthful back four of Aaron Scott, Jason Rowley, Tim Myers and Ashton Pett under pressure. Goalkeeper Danny Robinson had held off the challenge of fit-again Andy Ralph to retain his place between the sticks but could do little to prevent the home side going ahead in the 20th minute.
Tefana’s first corner of the match was initially cleared but found its way to Lorenzo Tehau on the edge of the box and he made no mistake with his finish, finding the net off the underside of the crossbar. It was 2-0 just 10 minutes later in almost identical fashion, United again failing to deal with a corner and Alvin Tehau this time pouncing to take full advantage.
It looked like Waitakere would have to trudge into the sheds two goals behind but they were thrown a life line in first-half injury time when Dakota Lucas was brought down in the box. Ex-All White Allan Pearce stepped up to smash the penalty home and set up an intriguing second spell.
Emblen had obviously given his charges a stern talking to at the interval and they responded well, Roy Krishna and young substitute Sean Lovemore causing the Tefana defence plenty of problems. Emblen threw himself on with 15 minutes to go as United switched to a 3-4-3 but it was Tefana who found the net again, Axel Williams finding himself unmarked in the box to make sure of the points in injury time.
Waitakere assistant coach Darren Bazeley was disappointed to have lost a match he felt was more even than the scoreline suggested.
“I don’t think they really dominated us in the first half but they scored from their two best chances,” he says. “We had a lot of opportunities in the first 20 minutes of the second half but just couldn’t score.”
The result means Waitakere’s next O-League match against fierce rivals Auckland City on February 26 now takes on even more significance. With just one other game remaining, defeat at City’s Kiwitea St home could spell the end for United’s hopes of booking a spot in the final.
Amicale – Hekari United Match Summary click here
Lautoka – Koloale Match Summary click here
Tefana – Waitakere United Match Summary click here