His side lead Group A and are almost certain to be involved in the two-legged final where they will meet New Zealand outfit Auckland City.
His rivals all have three goals or less but only one of the closest chasers, Masauvakalo’s Amicale team mate Alick Maemae, is likely to play more games than the one group match remaining.
oceaniafootball.com takes a look at how some of the O-League’s leading scorers have fared and rates their chances of winning the golden boot.
Fenedy Masauvakalo, Amicale: The 25-year-old is a local hero in Port Vila and his exploits this season will have endeared him even more to the Amicale faithful. Those fanatical fans packed out PVL Stadium in the last round to watch the Reds all but book a place in the final with a 5-1 win over Lautoka, despite being down to ten men for much of the match. Masauvakalo had earlier sent the 7000-plus home supporters crazy with the opening goal in the seventh minute and added another just before halftime. He completed his hat-trick with one of the last kicks of the game to wrap up a memorable day for Vanuatu football and surge ahead in the golden boot race. With three matches up his sleeve to add further to this tally, Masauvakalo is the clear favourite and it will take something special for him to be overtaken.
Henry Fa’arodo, Hekari United: There is no doubt that this has been a disappointing campaign for defending champions Hekari but Henry Fa’arodo has still managed to find the target on three occasions. However, all of the Solomon Islands star’s goals arrived in the early part of the O-League season and he has not made it onto the scoresheet since the turn of the year. His last strike was the second of a double in a 4-0 win over former side Koloale on November 13 and coach Jerry Allen would have hoped for a bigger contribution in recent games from Fa’arodo and his fellow attackers. He would have been closer to Masauvakalo’s total if he had converted a last-minute penalty in that match against Koloale but goalkeeper Shadrock Ramoni made a good save to prevent him notching a hat-trick. Given that Hekari have only one match left and that Fa’arodo has not scored for three O-League games, his chances of catching Masauvakalo appear slim.
Alick Maemae, Amicale: Nicknamed Mr Cool by his adoring fans at Amicale, Maemae has been in sparkling form this season and, as his side are highly likely to progress past the group stages, is the man with the best opportunity to beat team mate Masauvakalo’s total. He has three goals to his name already and will get two chances to add to that tally – he is suspended for Amicale’s final group match against Koloale but will be available for the two legs of the final against Auckland City. He found the net in the recent 5-1 humbling of Lautoka and was also on target in the earlier 2-0 win over Koloale, as well as notching a penalty during the dramatic 3-3 draw with Hekari. Blessed with outstanding skill and vision, the Solomon Islander is likely to show his countrymen at Koloale no mercy as Amicale wrap up their regular O-League season on March 19.
Benjamin Totori, Koloale: This season hasn’t exactly gone to plan for returning hero Totori and his Koloale team mates. Hopes were high when Totori signed for his hometown club from New Zealand side Waitakere United but any dreams of an early impact didn’t come to fruition as Koloale failed to take a point from their first three matches. Skipper Totori did not manage to get on the scoresheet in any of those defeats but made up for lost time when his team finally did register their first win, notching a hat-trick as Koloale went on a goal-scoring rampage to beat Lautoka 6-1. They followed that up with another victory, 2-1 over Hekari, but have found form too late to mount a challenge for first place and Totori will have to produce something out of the ordinary to better Masauvakalo’s tally.
Manel Exposito, Auckland City: Former Barcelona striker Exposito has joined defender Angel Berlanga and co-coach Ramon Tribulietx in adding a touch of Spanish flavour to Auckland City and has had a big impact since signing in January. He has only one O-League goal to his name but has the pedigree and talent to be a genuine contender for the golden boot. The 29-year-old has three games left to prove his worth – City’s last group game against Tefana and then the two final clashes with Amicale – and a hat-trick in one of those clashes would put him right in the running. The loan strike he has recorded so far was almost worthy of an award itself. With the clock counting down in a vital away meeting with Magenta, Exposito took a free kick from outside the area and expertly curled a shot around the wall and past the despairing reach of goalkeeper Jean Yan Dounezeck. The Spaniard is likely to produce several more moments of similar quality before the 2011 O-League comes to an end.