A stunning Germain Haewegene hat-trick secured a valuable victory for Tahiti United against Solomon Kings, as they kept their top four hopes alive.
Solomon Kings found themselves down in 5th place following South Island United’s victory earlier in the day, whilst Tahiti United knew a win would put them within striking distance of a Leaders Group spot.
Samuel Garcia’s side were dealt a late blow, when captain Teaonui Tehau was ruled out shortly before kick off, but the French Polynesian side responded to the setback well, bossing the early stages.
They had the ball in the net after an excellent ball from Matéo Degrumelle found Mathis Lacan, but forward Germain Haewegene was penalised for a shirt pull and the goal was ruled out following a VAR check.
Solomon Kings took their time getting started but once they hit their stride, they did so to devastating effect.
Rafa Le’ai won the ball near the Tahiti United area, before feeding Don Keana. He played in Junior David who cutback for the unmarked Jez Lofthouse to finish calmly past Jackson Gardner.
A similar move almost yielded a second but Sota Higashide was denied by an excellent defensive block.
It would prove even more crucial when Tahiti United immediately broke down the other end. Tevita Waranaivalu – playing in his home country – charged forward with the ball and when no pressure was forthcoming, the midfielder arrowed a fine effort into the far corner past Junior Petua.
Whatever Samuel Garcia said to his charges at the break clearly had the desired impact, with just 25 seconds on the clock when Tahiti United took the lead.
Germain Haewegene broke down the right-hand side, catching Solomon Kings cold, before holding off the covering defenders and finished smartly past Petua.
A little over ten minutes later and Haewegene had his second and his side’s third. A fairly innocuous long ball caught the defensive line napping and the pacey Haewegene stole in to nick the ball past the ‘keeper, before rolling it into an unguarded net.
The floodgates were opened and Tahiti United continued to pour forward. Joseph Athale the next on the scoresheet, latching onto to a pass from Degrumelle on the overlap and patiently finishing past the despairing Petua at the near post.
Four minutes later and Haewegene clinched his hat-trick in spectacular fashion. Another long ball over the top wasn’t dealt with by the Solomon Kings backline and Haewegene took the ball in his stride before lashing a stunning effort past Petua to make it 5-1 with a quarter of an hour remaining.
The dominant victory lifts Tahiti United up a place into 6th, at the expense of Vanuatu United FC, with only two points now separating them and the top four.
Tahiti United: 5 (Tevita WARANAIVALU 41′, Germain HAEWEGENE 46′, 58′ 74′, Joseph ATHALE 70′)
Solomon Kings FC: 1 (Jez LOFTHOUSE 27′)
HT: 1-1
Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek