Hienghene Sport and Ba FC will face off in the second quarter final of the OFC Champions League 2019 at Stade Yoshida in New Caledonia.
This will be the second time the two teams will play against each other, the first being in group stage of the 2017 OFC Champions League at the very same stadium. The game was evenly matched and both sides scored a goal each for a one all finish. Tomorrow both teams look to one up against the other and secure a sport in the Semi-final.
Ba FC’s coach, Ronil Kumar, says it’s do or die for his team and that they hit the ground running upon returning home from the group stage.
“As soon as we qualified for the quarter-final we went back home and began our preparations”
“In the group stages it’s a pool game so you have chances. Now that it’s the quarter-finals there are no more chances, we have to win. So, we have added some players in our team, Saula Waqa in particular in the front to strengthen our striking force”, Kumar stated.
The Kumar coached side doesn’t know much about their opponents however they do know the challenges of being on the enemy’s turf.
“We don’t know much about our opponents but we are on their home ground and they really play well here. We have watched some of their highlights and any replays we could get our hands on so this will be a challenge for us”.
Meanwhile, Hienghene Sport’s coach, Félix Tagawa, feels he knows how Ba will play and how to stop them.
“We saw at the end of their training, and we saw also in their group matches, that they engage from the outset. Constant pressing, and to try and quickly get ahead of their opponent. They block deep and they try to play the ball and not kick it long all the time. It’s up to us to try and manage that and not let them get the better of us.”
“The organisation in terms of our lines – if we don’t have it right that will allow them to find the depth. They very tall and athletic up front and that could be tough for us. If we are able to stay tight, keep our passes in line we should have enough space to press and counter at the back.” Tagawa added.
“We had three full weeks to prepare for this match after the pool games and we’ve had to look for some preparation matches and we have maybe one or two days a week to work together. Our league match last week we tried to put something in place for in terms of our formation and tactics, there’s some players that were in there who aren’t available for tomorrow. I think the players are feeling confident, we’ll concentrate on our game plan.”, explained Tagawa.
Additional Information
OFC Champions League 2019 – Quarter Final
Hienghene Sport [HGN] vs. Ba FC [BAF]
Stade Yoshida
Kone, New Caledonia Saturday 6 April
Kick-off: 17:00 local
Match Officials
Referee: Campbell-Kirk WAUGH (NZL)
Assistant Referee 1: Isaac TREVIS (NZL)
Assistant Referee 2: Sione TEU (TGA)
Fourth Official: George TIME (SOL)
#OFCCL #HGNBAF
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HIÈNGHENE SPORT
Team List: Team List: 1. Rocky NYIKEINE (GK), 2. Joris GORENDIAWE, 3. William YENTAO 4. Bruno HYANEM, 5. Jordan DINET, 7. Anthony KAI, 8. Geordy GONY, 9. Brice DAHITE 10. Miguel KAYARA, 11. Bertrand KAI, 12. Antoine ROINE, 13. Roy KAYARA, 14. Gianny KAYARA, 17. Erwan AUSU, 18. Kevin TEIN, 19. Jacques NYIKEINE (GK), 20. Cedrick SANSOT 21. Joyce POINDJAO, 23. Nelson KAI, 28. Franck SINEM, 29. Alexandre GUACAR, 30. Yvanoe BAMY, 31. Christopher YEIWENE (GK)
Coach: Felix TAGAWA (NCL)
Ba FC
Team List: 1. Misiwani NAIRUBE, 3. Shazil ALI, 4. Manasa NAWAKULA, 5. Sitiveni CAVUILAGI, 6. Simione NABENU, 7. Ratu DAU, 8. Darold KAKASI, 9. Abbu ZAHID, 10. Savenaca NAKALEVU, 11. Ilimotama JESE, 12. Kishan SAMI, 13. Malakai RAKULA, 15 Saula WAQA,16. Malakai TIWA, 17. Narend RAO, 18 Sanaila WAQANICAKAU
Coach: Ronil KUMAR (FIJ)
Ends