They join fellow semi-finalist debutants Samoa, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia who also progressed following today’s final round of women’s group stage matches at Bisini Sports Complex.
In the opening match New Caledonia were playing Tonga to secure top spot in their group, which they did in uncompromising fashion knocking six unanswered goals past their opponent.
After being stunned by an early Samoa goal just two days previous, Marielle Haocas did the exact same thing to Tonga, finding the net after just four minutes. A hat trick to Christelle Wahnawe pushes her to the top of the goal scoring standings while Myranda Rabah and Brenda Kenon were also in on the action.
While it was a comprehensive victory for the Caledonians who are dead set on taking home the gold medal, Tonga played with their hearts on their sleeves. Penateti Feke was again a standout for her side, but a lot also has to be said for the Tonga back line which helped stem the flow of goals.
New Caledonia coach Kamali Fitialeata says his side was much better than they had been two days earlier.
“We put the key points in our game plan back in their place today. Against Samoa we should have been exploiting the space between the keeper and the first line of defence, but they were much bigger than us and the crosses came in but we couldn’t get to them first.
“Today we readdressed the plan, we stressed that it’s the coach who gives instructions and not the public, or anyone else, and I’m happy.”
Samoa progressed to their first Pacific Games semi-final after beating Solomon Islands 2-1 in an edge-of-your seat encounter which saw the Solomon Islanders rising to the occasion. While out of contention for the semi-finals with two losses, Luke Eroi’s charges were determined not to go home completely empty handed. However Hana Malo, captaining Samoa for the first time, provided a hiccup of sorts when she found the back of the net just two minutes in.
This sparked some life into the Solomon Islands side as Cathy Aihunu closed down any threat to the backline and urged her teammates forward. Crystal Bakolo, one of the more experienced members of the squad, pressed forward any chance she got, and with Merina Joe in tow, provided a near constant threat to Samoa.
Despite the slight possession advantage Solomon Islands appeared to have, it was Samoa adding to their tally in the 44th minute. Solomons goalkeeper Alice Patrick palmed the initial shot from Chelsea Strickland away from the goal but the threat wasn’t eliminated as Hazel Peleti was there to whack in the rebound.
The joy didn’t last long for Samoa as two minutes later their opponents weaved their way up the field before playing in to Joe who slotted the ball past the keeper.
For Solomon Islands coach Eroi, getting at least one goal was a good way to finish the competition. But it could have been better.
“We missed some chances to equalise and things could have been different but the girls weren’t wise enough to finish. It’s a good feeling to score a goal but we are out of the race and that’s not good, but we know where to start,” Eroi says.
In the final encounter, Cook Islands took on the hosts knowing anything but a loss by more than five goals would see them through to their first Pacific Games semi-final.
Papua New Guinea had an objective of their own which was clearly to put pressure on the Cook Islands and score as many goals as possible, which didn’t really go as to plan as coach Gary Philips had hoped it would.
While they got the pressure part right, the team struggled to crack that final line of defence led impeccably but Lee Maoate-Cox and Jennifer Akavi who put their bodies on the line in an effort to deny the near constant threat posed by Papua New Guinea on attack. But the standout had to be keeper Marjorie Toru who covered the entirety of her penalty area with care and precision and truly kept her side in the game.
At the half hour mark the home side finally broke the deadlock with Meagen Gunemba decision to go it alone paying off as she fired under a diving Toru. It was almost exactly 30 minutes into the second half when Papua New Guinea were again rewarded for their persistence as crowd favourite Fatima Rama hit the ball just right, giving her side a two goal advantage.
Philips says it the Cook Islands decision to throw themselves 100 per cent into defending their own goal made things difficult for his side.
“It was difficult to break them down and I thought we were a bit flat today. Our decision making let us down and we made it difficult for ourselves but obviously we’re happy with the win.”
An ecstatic Cook Islands captain Liz Harmon was in celebration mode at the final whistle.
“We had a lot of team bonding and our tactics really worked out. We worked as a team, played as a team and we’re really happy with the outcome,” she says.
“We’re just going play harder and throw everything we’ve got at the semi-final. We’ve got nothing to lose so we’re really looking forward to going through, really happy.”
The XV Pacific Games/OFC Olympic Qualifier Women’s Football Semi-Final will see Papua New Guinea take on Samoa, while New Caledonia will play Cook Islands at Bisini Sports Complex on Monday 13 July.

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