It wasn’t an easy afternoon for the defending champions as they faced up to a Tahitian side they’ve never managed to beat, with the two previous encounters resulting in a draw and a loss.
The ball ping-ponged back and forth as both sides had some early chances but just didn’t have that precision finishing to edge ahead.
Auckland City had to wait until the 14th minute when Emiliano Tade was brought down outside the 18-yard box to finally get the advantage they sought. The Argentinian delivered to the far post where Dae Wook Kim headed home for his second OFC Champions League goal.
Both sides tried to build from the back but had difficulty breaking down the defensive lines of their respective opponent. The New Zealand-based side certainly had the better chances as they tested keeper Mikael Roche’s reaction times over again.
Just a goal behind going into the break, the Tahitians still had a good chance of bringing themselves back into the match. But when three minutes into the restart Jaoa Moreira played to Tade who beat a diving Roche to slot home for Auckland’s second it looked like the heads were starting to dip for the Tahiti team.
The 54th minute more-or-less spelled the end for Dragon as a second caution for Henri Caroine put paid to his 2014 Champions League campaign. Five minutes later Auckland City capitalised through Moreira as he chipped an approaching Roche to add his name to the Golden Boot chase.
Plenty more action littered the half as Dragon continued to chase a consolation goal at the very least, but found themselves unable to counter a solid defensive line-up. Auckland contained the Tahitians well, and while they made advances were just as content to pass the ball around at the back and run down the clock.
Auckland City coach Ramon Tribulietx says his side started well and dominated the first half especially.
“After scoring our first goal it got a little bit open and we capitalised on that as well. We knew we could expect two different versions of Dragon, we played a good game according to the circumstances today and we are happy,” he says.
“The boys performed fantastically well, we hung on for more than 90 minutes. It’s crazy, at this time of the day you can only have problems playing 90 minutes but we’re happy with the fitness and the conditioning and we’ve got a couple of days to recover and prepare for one last game.”
His Dragon counterpart Ludovic Graugnard says the first half was also a good period of the game for his side.
“Today, I think the game plan we put in place worked really well, for the most part, in the first half. We know they like to play at a certain rhythm and take up space on the field, we played really high knowing this team would play long and that’s exactly what happened,” Graugnard says.
“Unfortunately the goal that slipped past really hurt us. But I told the players at half time that there was a possibility we could still win as the heat could be a greater factor for them than us. Unfortunately an individual error just after the break had a big effect on our tactics and our mentality.”
Home side Nadi were looking to redeem themselves against Vanuatu’s Amicale in after losing their opener to Auckland City 2-0, however the cards didn’t fall in their favour as Amicale raced to the top of the group with an emphatic 6-0 victory.
The visitors started things better than their hosts with two decent tests of Nadi captain and goalkeeper Benaminio Mateinaqara within the first few minutes. Amicale’s lethal strike force of Marko Dordevic, Jack Wetney, Francois Sakama and Dominique Fred had a number of first half chances that were either pipped just wide of the target, or sent ricocheting back off the post.
For their part, Nadi put pressure of their own on 2013 semi-finalists, with Napolioni Qasevakatini coming close on a number of occasions, and keeper Chickau Mansale also having to rush off his line to clear.
In the 24th minute the tide appeared to change for the locals as Tahiti referee Norbert Hauata wielded a red card for Uraia Loki for serious foul play which saw Amicale captain Nelson Sale stretchered to the side-line for treatment.
Despite being down a man, Nadi were able to hold their own, remaining solid in defence and swiftly countering to create chances of their own. Fortunately, Amicale were mis-firing up the front and despite losing defender Ame Votoniu, managed to enter the break locked at 0-0.
Nadi made some changes early in the second period, bringing on young striker Rusiate Matarerega in the hope they could nab a goal that would edge them ahead of their rivals. Unfortunately they could only hold out so long before Amicale’s shots to goal ratio started to improve. After a tidy run in to the box was closed down, Marko Dordevic made sure to capitalise on his next chance seconds later as he drilled home in the 59th minute.
Amicale then brought Kensi Tangis on for Dominique Fred and immediately the playmaker started to make waves. While the five-man Nadi defence proved difficult to break down, Vasilic soon netted with a tight volley into the back of the net off a cross from Wetney.
In the 81st minute Nadi once again saw red, this time Ratu Bainivalu received his marching orders for spitting at an opponent. This opened the flood gates as Amicale now had a two man advantage over their opponents. Substitute Tangis stamped his mark on the match as he smashed past Mateinaqara in the 85th minute. Teammate Vasilic knocked in his second in the 89th minute and Tangis his second a minute later before Vasilic sealed the match with his third goal in the final seconds.
Victorious Amicale coach Nathan Hall says it was a fantastic performance from his side, which was assisted by the two red cards Nadi received during the game.
“The boys really dug deep, I’m really happy with the overall performance, especially the second half display,”
“It’s a great confidence booster heading into a very tough game on Monday. The goals that eventually came are important for a lot of reasons. Confidence, for starters, for strikers to be hitting the back of the net and obviously for goal difference, in a tournament that comprises only of three games it’s important.
The two red cards his players received were the fate-sealer in Nadi coach Kamal Swamy’s opinion.
“Before the red card I think we matched them well, we were on attack,” Swamy says.
“As we are a very young side, only two experienced players and only one who has played in this competition before, that is also a factor. But they’re all ball players and they could have done well if they were 11 players, but it was just unfortunate.”
The OFC Champions League action continues tomorrow at Churchill Park in Lautoka, Fiji with AS Pirae and Kiwi FC opening Match Day 6 proceedings for Group A at 1pm (local) before Waitakere Untied take on Solomon Warriors at 4pm (local).

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