Waitakere did not enjoy a successful run on the road last season – Neil Emblen’s men picked up just one point from their travels – and would have been keen to get a win in New Caledonia after drawing 1-1 with Magenta on the same Stade Numa Daly ground in the previous campaign.
Despite being in good form after posting two triumphs on the trot, the omens did not look good for Waitakere when the day dawned in typical Noumea sunshine, the temperatures soaring above 30 degrees celsius by the afternoon kick-off time. Performing in that sort of heat is an unfamiliar experience to the majority of United’s squad and it appeared to affect them in the opening moments as Mont-Dore, chasing their first win of the season, began the brighter.
The stifling conditions were such a factor that referee Averii Jacques allowed the players to take a drinks break just before the half hour mark and the chance to rehydrate had a positive effect on Waitakere, who went on to dominate the second period of the first half. Mont-Dore were fortunate to keep the scores level when captain Georges Wadenges was forced to block a goal-bound Ryan De Vries effort on the line in the 32nd minute and Waitakere went a step further eight minutes later.
Ironically, it was two players likely to be most susceptible to the heat – English veteran Martin Bullock and Welshman Chris Bale – who joined forces to fashion the opportunity, former professional Bullock crossing for Bale to nip in and head home after the Mont-Dore defence had earlier coughed up the ball.
The goal put Waitakere on track for a significant win but the chances of that occurring were dealt a blow in the 58th minute when defender Tim Myers was dismissed for a tackle from behind. A man down and with the temperature still high, hanging onto the lead shaped as a daunting task but Waitakere dealt with the challenge well, Emblen wisely reshaping his 10 men from the preferred 4-3-3 formation into a more defensive 4-4-1.
Play was held up with 20 minutes to go for another drinks break but Mont-Dore failed to repeat Waitakere’s feat of scoring after the breather when the action restarted. Unsurprisingly, the home side saw plenty of the ball in the closing period but could not carve out many chances, the best of which fell to Pascal Kenon, who shot just wide of Danny Robinson’s goal with one of the last kicks of the game.
“This is the third time I’ve been here and the first time we’ve won,” said Emblen, whose team had drawn on their two previous visits to Stade Numa Daly in past seasons, both against the country’s former O-League representatives Magenta.
“I was really happy with the performance and I thought the lads dug deep to get the result. I thought we controlled most of the game, particularly the first half. It was obviously going to be difficult after getting a man sent off in the second half but I don’t think they troubled us that much to be honest,” he said.
“We changed our formation around and stood strong towards the end. I think they were worried about our pace up front so didn’t actually push forward that much. We now have nine points from nine and have good control of the group.”
Ba passed up the opportunity to challenge that control of Group A by falling to a 4-1 defeat away to Tefana in a match played on Friday evening local time. To make matters worse for the Men in Black, the strength of their squad will now be severely tested after the sending off of three players. Malakai Tiwa, Avinesh Suwamy and Isimeli Naresia were all ordered from the field as the Ba players lost their composure in the second half and it will be a quiet flight back to Fiji after the disappointing result.
Like Mont-Dore, Tefana were gunning for their first three points of the campaign but had more success in that quest than their fellow francophones, a Roihau Degage double and further strikes to Tetiamana Marmouyet, from the spot, and Axel Williams giving them the comprehensive victory.
With the score at 2-0, Ba gave themselves a chance of getting back into the game when Jone Vesikula converted the second penalty of the evening in the 59th minute but the final half hour was not pleasant viewing for coach Yogendra Dutt, who could do little to turn things around as three of his charges saw red. The result means Tefana have now leapfrogged the Fijians into second place, five points behind leaders Waitakere, on the Group A ladder.
No games are taking place this weekend in Group B, with Hekari United instead facing Koloale on December 10, and Auckland City hosting Amicale on January 18.
Tefana vs. Ba Summary click here
Mont-Dore vs. Waitakere United Summary click here

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