Cook Islands bounced back from their 8-1 setback against New Caledonia to restrict Tahiti to a narrow 1-0 victory while Tonga endured an even worse day than their last outing – an 8-0 defeat to Tahiti – as they shipped 15 unanswered goals against a rampant Solomon Islands side.
Coach Tuka Tisam must have feared the worst for his Cook Islands charges against Group B leaders Tahiti but a stoic defensive effort helped them go into the sheds on level terms with the scorers yet to be troubled.
Tahiti finally found a way through a backline well-marshalled by skipper Ant Samuela when a hopeful Gianna Manca cross eluded goalkeeper Rangi Piri and found its way to Ahonui Tahi at the back post in the 59th minute. He wasn’t about to pass up such a gift-wrapped opportunity and tucked the ball into the empty net.
There was a danger the goals may have kept coming as they did against New Caledonia but Tisam’s team were determined not to let that happen again and defended doggedly for the rest of the match.
They did not create much in an attacking sense but Tisam was delighted to see his defence perform so well and says the loss felt more like a win. Judging by the cheers from the Cook Islands bench that greeted the final whistle, that was a view shared by the rest of the camp.
“I am very happy with the result and it is a good one to send back home,” Tisam says. “They brought a lot of heart and pride into the game today and I thought their performance was outstanding.
“We’ve got Tonga next and hopefully we will get three points from them. We will look to be more attacking in that game because we need to get forward and into dangerous areas more often.”
Although they might have hoped to have tucked more goals away, the result keeps Tahiti at the top of Group B with a perfect three-from-three win record. Their remaining group match is an all-important clash with French Polynesian rivals New Caledonia that could well decide who tops the pool.
But Solomon Islands also have every chance of securing that honour after handing out a footballing lesson to Tonga during their 15-0 triumph.
The Katukatus, as they are known in their football-mad nation, got off the mark in the 18th minute when Gabriel Bosi made progress down the left and squared for Alex Waimora, who would go on to score three more times, to finish off at the second attempt.
It was 8-0 before half-time and the goals continued to flow in regular fashion after the break. Solo Kuki also notched a hat-trick, while Bosi and John Bitiai helped themselves to two each. Jimmy Raremane, Harrison Mala and Maeron Fa’arodo got in on the act, as did Tonga defender Saimone Pahulu when he diverted the ball past overworked goalkeeper Rangi Piri for an own goal.
Coach Chris Asipara was delighted with the clinical attitude shown by his team and says it was the perfect tonic after their previous 2-1 defeat against Tahiti.
“We were very down after that loss but we managed to regroup and take as many positives as we could out of that experience. Solomon Islanders have a lot of passion for football so we said, ‘Well, let’s go out there and play with passion’, and that’s what we did.”
It was a long day for Tonga counterpart Chris Williams but he again emphasised that development rather than results is his primary focus.
“It’s about the experience,” he says. “We have never played against teams like Tahiti or Solomon Islands, whose players have been coached since they were six years old. It’s a good lesson for us and hopefully they can take that on board.”
Tonga’s best chance of getting a good result was always going to be against Cook Islands but Williams says bagging any points from that match will be far from straightforward.
“They’re a good team and did really well against Tahiti today. We’re going to have to be a lot better and need to have a think about the way we approach that game.”
Tahiti – Cook Islands Match Summary Download PDF
Solomon Islands – Tonga Match Summary Download PDF
Competition Summary Download PDF