AS PTT have kept their slim hopes of reaching a third consecutive OFC Futsal Men’s Champions League final alive with an 8-1 win over Gulf Komara FC at the Vodafone Arena in Suva.
The victory bumps them up to second on the ladder, with the crucial match of the day between Mataks FC and Southern Legions FC still to come.
Coming into the game, AS PTT needed three points and a winning margin of more than six goals to have any chance of staying in with a chance of reaching the final, provided Mataks FC and Southern Legions FC drew in the second game of the day.
They were halfway there by the sixth minute. Ugo Qenegeie got the scoring underway with a stellar strike into the top-left corner, before Christ Pei turned home the second with his left thigh following a cross off the right.
Joel Djmaoet scored the third, evading the goalkeeper with a silky chip over his head, before controlling to tap into the back of the net.
Gulf Komara could easily have shrunk back into their shells and allowed the game to get ugly, but they did at least keep their opponents from finding the back of the net again for 13 minutes, albeit riding the luck of a bad miss from Darell Gnahou.
Eventually the fourth AS PTT goal came in the 19th minute, Gregory Wassin combining with a teammate to find the bottom-right corner.
They extended the margin to six goals, six minutes into the second half. Both came from low crosses into the penalty area, Emmanuel Hmae and Jymaël Upa both on hand to score.
With 14 minutes left, they needed one more goal to keep their mathematical hopes alive. AS PTT left it late though, finally scoring the all-important seventh goal in the 38th minute. Captain James Namuli came up with the clutch play, poking the ball through the gloves of Laventine Mounou.
That eased the nerves a little bit, and Namuli added his second and AS PTT’s eighth. Gulf Komara got in on the act too, finishing with a consolation goal from Ronald Regy.
AS PTT eyes now turn to the next match of the day between Mataks FC and Southern Legions FC, where they’ll hope for an unlikely draw to advance to the final. Gulf Komara FC know they’ll finish their campaign in Fiji with the fifth place play-off on Sunday.
Gulf Komara FC: 1 (Ronald REGY 40′)
AS PTT: 8 (Ugo QENEGEIE 3’, Christ PEI 4’, Joel DJAMOET 6’, Gregory WASSIN 19’, Emmanuel HMAE 24’, Jymaël UPA 26′, James NAMULI 38′, 39′)
HT: 0-4
Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek