Fiji and Papua New Guinea opened the day’s action with the former going in search of their first win at the tournament after losing to New Caledonia 3-0 and drawing with Vanuatu 1-1. Papua New Guinea were also looking for a solid victory after also drawing 1-1 with the hosts before beating Cook Islands just 1-0.
Fiji pushed forward from the outset and were eventually rewarded for their efforts when Jonetani Buksh headed home in the 22nd minute to give his side the lead. Papua New Guinea pressured the Fiji backline but couldn’t find an equaliser ahead of the break. In the second period Fiji continued to cause problems for the Papua New Guinea defence and went two goals ahead when captain Iosefo Verevou struck in the 50th minute. Papua New Guinea were given the perfect opportunity to lift themselves back into contention when they were awarded a penalty but Joshua Talau sent the ball wide from the spot.
“Unfortunately, we lost the first game but we have improved since then and that’s a good sign. I think this is the first time the players have played more like they can,” Fiji coach Kamal Swamy says. “We were more aggressive in the midfield and were going on counter attacks quickly with support which resulted in two goals.”
Meanwhile Papua New Guinea coach Bobby Morris says he was confident his team could beat Fiji based on their assessment of their previous games, but his boys missed a couple of good chances.
“At times the ball possession was good and we were holding onto the ball well but we weren’t able to do enough in attack,” Morris says. “We know we’re not going to win the tournament but we came here to get the best results we could and the aim was to minimise the score lines against us because they haven’t been good in some previous tournaments. It would be great to come third or fourth so that we don’t finish at the bottom.”
The second match was an interesting affair as New Caledonia rested a number of their usual starting line-up for the encounter with the Cook Islands. The new-look side took some time to settle into the match allowing Cook Islands the opportunity to pounce on their small errors and launching some positive counter-attacks.
Fortunately for the Francophone side they soon found their rhythm and with the ball on the ground were able to open up the Cook Islands defence. New Caledonia’s first goal came in the 36th minute through Ben Wamowe with a low shot into the corner. The partnership between Raymond Xanatre and Macinou Wamai up the right wing paid dividends for the Caledonians as their one-two passes resulted in two goals for Wamai in the 43rd and 45th minutes.
New Caledonia came back from the break firing and less than a minute after returning to the field Xanatre was on the board after slipping a shot past Cook Islands goalkeeper Keegan Inia. The final goal went to Jim Ouka who slotted home a penalty from the spot in the 82nd minute. New Caledonia were unlucky not to net more on the day and Cook Islands have Inia to thank for that after the New Zealand-based keeper pulled off several massive saves.
New Caledonia coach Kamali Fitialeata says he is happy with his side’s performance against a side that has made strides since their debut loss.
“We wanted to respect the Cook Islands team and have to offer a huge bravo to them, they were brave and they were a very difficult adversary,” he says. “We wanted to give some players a go, and I’m happy with them – a win is always good.”
Cook Islands coach Tuka Tisam says his players have continued to fight throughout this tournament and will keep improving with each match.
“I’m happy with the boys today, they played pretty well against a quality side from New Caledonia,” he says. “We’ll take the five goals as I think we battled really, really hard today.”
Luganville Soccer City Stadium was full to the brim with spectators during the final match as hosts Vanuatu took on the defending champions New Zealand in what was the clash of the tournament so far.
Vanuatu were hugely unlucky not to go ahead early in the first half as they dominated possession and were presented with a number of goal scoring opportunities. Despite continuing to dominate the game it was New Zealand who took the lead in the 22nd minute when Stuart Holthusen dribbled around Vanuatu goalkeeper Charlie Waivui, who had come right to the edge of his box, to slot the ball into an open goal.
However Vanuatu countered almost immediately and equalised in the 23rd minute when Alex Saniel chipped New Zealand goalkeeper Zac Speedy. Vanuatu continued to dominate possession, making charges through the middle and up the flanks as they searched for a winner but repeatedly sent their shots off-target. The lack of finishing that troubled the hosts in their first two matches continued today and would soon come to haunt them when New Zealand took the lead in the 80th minute. A Holthusen cross from the right flank fell perfectly for substitute Elijah Neblett who volleyed in behind Waivu.
Vanuatu assistant coach Tiel Joses says while disappointed not to get the win, he is happy with the performance of the players.
“Presently some of the boys have played a lot and are tired both physically and mentally,” Joses says. “With New Zealand, mentally, it’s still a problem for us Ni-Vanuatu to beat them. But hopefully in two to three years’ time we can adjust this team and probably will have one of the best teams in the future.”
New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley says it was a hard fought win against the host nation, as he expected it to be.
“They’re a very good team Vanuatu and they’ve had a couple of poor results for them so we knew that this would be a game that they would be up for and they didn’t disappoint, they brought it today,” Bazeley says. “I thought when we went 1-0 up we might settle down a bit but they came back at us and fought really hard and today probably wasn’t a performance that we wanted, but it’s a result that we wanted and I’m very proud of the boys. They had to dig deep and came through in what was a big battle to the end.”
The OFC U-17 Championship returns on Tuesday when Cook Islands take on hosts Vanuatu at 9.30am before Papua New Guinea encounter New Caledonia at 12.30pm with the final match between New Zealand and Fiji taking place at 3.30pm.
Match Summary Fiji – Papua New Guinea click here
Match Summary New Caledonia – Cook Islands click here
Match Summary Vanuatu – New Zealand click here
Competition Summary click here
Disciplinary Summary click here

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