Fijians Ba, who joined Amicale in securing their place in the semi-finals during the previous round, put themselves in the box seat to finish top of Group A with a 2-1 away success over closest challengers Amicale In Vanuatu while Warriors triumphed 4-2 over Papua New Guinea’s Hekari United at home as both sides searched for their first three points of the campaign.
Over 8,000 fans packed into Port Vila Stadium to witness the record of the group’s only unbeaten sides go on the line and, with the vast majority firmly behind Amicale, they did not have to wait long to find something to cheer about. Striker Fenedy Masauvakalo has enjoyed a return to his best form in recent weeks and that run continued when he found the Ba net from a 25-metre free kick in the 19th minute.
The Reds were yet to lose at home and had not conceded a goal in any of their four matches so far – the only team in the competition still to have their rearguard breached – so it appeared as if Ba would then have their work cut out for them to get back into the game. They did struggle to find a way to trouble Amicale goalkeeper Chikau Mansale for the rest of the half and the home side was still one goal to the good when the half-time whistle blew.
When Ba did finally manage to get themselves on the scoreboard, they had New Zealand referee Mirko Benischke largely to thank rather than their own ability to unlock the watertight Amicale defence. Benischke pointed to the spot on two occasions within seven minutes to turn the match on its head and give Ba the chance to claim the outright lead in the group.
The first penalty arrived on the hour mark when Mansale fouled Kini Viliame and could then do little to keep out the spot kick of Avinesh Sumamy, who slotted home to get his side back on level terms. Mansale then had another man to face from 12 yards just moments later in the 67th minute, Amicale defender Nelson Sale the culprit this time as the Reds again committed the ultimate sin of failing to obey the law inside the box.
The penalty taking was entrusted to Sanni Issa on this occasion and he justified that faith by keeping his cool to win the match for his side. The result means Ba have all but topped the group as they are three points ahead with only one match left – the return fixture with Amicale at home next Saturday – and have a superior goal difference of five.
“I think we did really well to fight back in the second half,” Ba coach Yogendra Dutt said. “We made one mistake in the first half and Amicale scored from it. At the break I told my players to continue to play at the right end and finally we got two penalties and were able to hit two goals.”
Amicale counterpart Richard Iwai felt a lack of concentration was behind his side’s failure to close the game off.
“We lost control in the second half and we were punished,” he said. “The Ba strikers put a lot of pressure on our defenders but I think they were lucky to get two penalties. We also had three golden opportunities to score in the second half but that didn’t work out.”
The fortunes of the teams taking part in the group’s other match at Honiara’s Lawson Tama Stadium were in stark contrast to Ba and Amicale as each side were yet to earn a win and were battling it out to avoid the wooden spoon. Solomon Warriors took a massive advantage in that aim by racing into a three-goal lead within half an hour, Gagame Feni getting the scoring underway in the 11th minute before two strikes from Moffat Kilifa – in the 13th and 27th minutes – appeared to present Hekari with an insurmountable challenge.
The visitors gave themselves a ray of hope when Joachim Waroi scored only their second goal of the season in the 43rd minute but found themselves three behind again just seconds later as Feni joined Kilifa in notching a brace.
There was unlikely to be a repeat of such high scoring in the second spell and so it proved as the Lawson Tama faithful had to wait until the 89th minute for another goal to be fired in, Hekari’s Raymond Gunemba finishing after a neat one-two with Nigel Dabingyaba. They still had a chance of taking something from the match as four minutes of injury time were then played but Hekari couldn’t pull off what would have been a remarkable comeback and were again left to rue their lack of accuracy in front of goal.
“We have struggled with finishing throughout our last few games and today we did not convert all the chances that we had,” Hekari coach Jerry Allen said. “It was a tough game and I congratulate Warriors for their performance today and the victory.”
His opposite number was understandably in a far better mood and was relieved to have finally picked up three points.
“We took our chances when we needed to and it is a great relief to feel that we belong in this competition,” Warriors coach Brendan Crichton said. “Some of our players also decided to give some game time to the younger ones and I am proud of what Moffat Kilifa and Gagame Feni did today.”
The fifth round of the OFC Champions League continues over the next few days with a pair of Group B games, Auckland City hosting crosstown rivals Waitakere United in a crucial match on Sunday 21 April before Dragon look to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals in meeting Mont-Dore in the francophone derby on Tuesday 23 April.

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