TAHITI – AS Excelsior showed last week’s upset 2-1 triumph over Championnat D1 contenders AS Pirae was no fluke after they secured a precious 2-0 victory over AS Vaiete. The win lifts Excelsior four points clear of bottom placed JT and will have rival clubs looking nervously over their shoulders as coach Forrest Flore’s team hit form.
Ludo Taeta had two early chances to give Excelsior the lead but was denied by some extraordinary goalkeeping. Those early chances proved to be rare opportunities for defensively minded Excelsior looking to break on the counter-attack.
Vaiete fans will feel aggrieved that a promising first half performance and territorial domination failed to produce a goal. It was that wastefulness that would come back to haunt the D2 champions in a dramatic second-half.
Excelsior opened the scoring with a move that began in its own half with Maire Nui Taeta sweeping the length of pitch before Ludo Taeta applied a deadly finish past three Vaiete defenders in the 50th minute.
Coach Forrest Flore would have been happy to see the match open up as Vaiete sought an equalizer leaving plenty of gaps for Excelsior to exploit. Vaiete were nearly rewarded for their efforts on 79 minutes when a Rainui Rua header struck the Excelsior upright and Flore’s team tried to contain a barrage of attacks.
The match was settled on 89 minutes when Maire Nui Teata snatched Excelsior’s second goal. Within moments Vaiete were reduced to ten men when Rainui Rua was shown a red card to complete a miserable evening for his team.
Fédération Tahitienne de Football (FTF)
Championnat D1
Standings – 20.12.2008
TAC 0, AS Manu Ura 5 (Célestin TAUPUA 12’, Hiashi KAKE 54’, Jean-François KABEU 70’, 73’, Glen TAERO 91’)
AS Excelsior 2 (Ludo TAETA 50′, Maire Nui TEATA 89′), AS Vaiete 0
Fédération Tahitienne de Football (FTF)
Championnat D1
Standings – 20.12.2008
| PL |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
PTS |
GD |
||
| 1. |
AS Tefana |
11 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
37 |
2 |
44 |
+35 |
| 2. |
AS Manu Ura |
13 |
10 |
0 |
3 |
46 |
15 |
43 |
+29 |
| 3. |
AS Pirae |
13 |
8 |
2 |
3 |
32 |
14 |
39 |
+18 |
| 4. |
AS Dragon |
13 |
7 |
2 |
4 |
30 |
19 |
36 |
+11 |
| 5. |
Tahiti U-20 |
11 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
20 |
16 |
31 |
+4 |
| 6. |
TAC |
14 |
5 |
2 |
7 |
20 |
28 |
31 |
-8 |
| 7. |
T.Faaa |
13 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
28 |
35 |
28 |
-7 |
| 8. |
AS Vaiete |
14 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
9 |
35 |
23 |
-26 |
| 9. |
AS Excelsior |
13 |
2 |
2 |
9 |
16 |
42 |
21 |
-26 |
| 10. |
AS JT |
13 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
7 |
43 |
17 |
-36 |
Win = 4 pts, Draw = 2 pts, Loss = 1 pt