Each of the day’s three results proved significant to the overall picture of the tournament as Papua New Guinea defeated Tonga 3-0, Fiji swept aside American Samoa 7-1 and Vanuatu edged out Solomon Islands 1-0.
Fiji and Vanuatu both have six points and will battle it out on Tuesday for top spot in Group A. Meanwhile in Group B, New Zealand need a win or a draw to advance while their day three opponents Tonga could knock out the Kiwis and join Papua New Guinea in the final four if they win by at least two goals.
The meeting between Vanuatu and Solomon Islands was expected to be the closest contest of the afternoon and that proved to be the case as the title rivals traded blows for just over an hour before substitute Jean Kaltack finally broke the deadlock to score what proved to be the match winner. It was a goal worth waiting for too, the promising striker showing great skill to bring the ball down on his chest and direct it past Solympics goalkeeper Silas Seda, whose bravery and fine handling impressed throughout.
Vanuatu coach Richard Iwai will now lead his troops into a key clash against Fiji on Tuesday, the winner of which will finish top of the group and thus potentially avoid facing favourites New Zealand in the semi-finals.
“It’s a great feeling for us,” Iwai said. “I thought we could have done more today but having only one day of rest between the games is hard and maybe the pressure got to the players as well. We try to rush sometimes in front of goal instead of keeping cool and that’s what we need to correct.”
It could have been different for the Solomon Islands had Jerry Donga’s 13th-minute strike not been ruled out for offside but coach Luke Eroi did not point the finger at the officials.
“The result means we are out now which is very disappointing,” Eroi said. “We had planned on scoring early but couldn’t do so. Our defending is good but our combinations going forward have not been working. We have now lost 2-0 and 1-0 so it’s obvious that goalscoring has been a problem.”
The opening match of the day also brought a significant result as Papua New Guinea’s victory secured them a semi-final berth. But coach Frank Farina was far from happy with the performance of his charges and knows an improvement is necessary if they are to match any of the title contenders.
“We were very sloppy,” the former Australia national team boss said. “We got the win which was the most important thing but I thought our finishing was very poor. It was still a comfortable win but it was very frustrating. We weren’t at our best at all and, on today’s performance, everything needs to improve. It wasn’t just the finishing, our ball possession also wasn’t good enough.”
Farina did not have to wait long to see his side take the lead though, Vanya Malagian opening the scoring in just the sixth minute by precisely lobbing the ball over goalkeeper Soane Faupula from close range. But Papua New Guinea were kept scoreless for the rest of the half in the face of some determined Tongan defending and it wasn’t until just after the break that the leaders added a second, half-time substitute Nigel Dabingyaba making an immediate impact.
Jamal Seeto netted the third with four minutes to go but Tonga coach Timote Moleni was satisfied with his players’ efforts in their first outing of the tournament.
“It was pleasing because the boys performed to their best,” he said. “The main problem was our attacking play, when we tried to score we couldn’t. It’s something we will need to improve on for the New Zealand game.”
The result of the day’s second match likewise proved crucial to the semi-final shake-up as it gave Fiji a great chance of progressing, an opportunity that was turned into reality by Vanuatu’s defeat of Solomon Islands later. Fiji waltzed into the semis in style by knocking seven past American Samoa but had their copybook blotted with the concession of a 66th-minute Ailoa Tualaulelei strike, the American Samoans’ first goal of the tournament.
The defeated side managed to frustrate Fiji for long periods of the first half and went into the sheds trailing by just one goal, a Jone Salauneune effort in the 12th minute. But the floodgates opened in the second spell, Misaele Draunibaka and captain Esava Naqeleca both notching doubles to go with further goals from Samuela Drudru and Archie Watkins.
“I’m not that happy with the way we played, even though we scored goals,” Fiji coach Imdad Ali said. “When you play in matches like this everyone wants to score and they forget about playing football. That’s often what happens when you are expected to score lots of goals.”
The last round of group matches take place on Tuesday before the semi-finals are held on Thursday.
Papua New Guinea vs. Tonga Match Summary: Download Here
American Samoa vs. Fiji Match Summary: Download Here
Solomon Islands vs. Vanuatu Match Summary: Download Here
Competition Summary: Download Here
For the full schedule and results click here