Group A favourites look to press on

Seven-time champions Auckland City FC and 2014 runners-up Amicale will be both aiming to make it two wins from two on Match Day 6 of the 2016 OFC Champions League competition. Meanwhile it’s D-day for Papua New Guinea debutants Lae City Dwellers and the Solomon Warriors whose tournament hopes will evaporate with another defeat.
Vanuatu heavyweights Amicale and the Solomon Warriors kick off proceedings at Auckland’s QBE Stadium Oval on Wednesday. Amicale, who had a disappointing 2015 campaign, looked back to their best in their encounter against the Papua New Guinea champions. The 2014 finalists have asserted their dominance from the outset to record a comfortable 3-0 victory.
Italian Coach Mauro Bertoni is looking for a similar performance from his side when they face the Solomon Warriors.
“I checked the game against Auckland, the Solomon Warriors played well against them, especially in the first half. It will be hard but that’s football, when you think it will be easy, it will be hard so we have to play the game with our plan, try to play our best football and if we play good the result will take care of us.”
The Warriors will take some positives out of their first up performance against pre- tournament favourites Auckland City. Despite the 4-0 final score, the Warriors held their own for most of the game. Trailing by just one goal deep into the second half an upset result had remained a possibility. However, at the end Auckland City’s experience and superior fitness came to the fore as they scored three times in the last 15 minutes.
Warriors’s coach Moses Toata believes his side will be more competitive against Amicale.
“I think we have a better chance of winning against Amicale because we’ve played them before and know some of their players,” he says.
“I have a fair idea of their style of play unlike Auckland City. We were only able to watch their game against Wellington and that’s where we got the ideas for how to manage their very high intensity attack.”
In the day’s other match Champions League newcomers Lae City will be hoping for an upset against Auckland City. The Papua New Guinea title holders showed glimpses of their potential in their 3-0 defeat to Amicale. They looked especially dangerous on the counter to create a number of anxious moments for Amicale’s Italian goalkeeper Mauro Boerchio. With Auckland City likely to dominate possession, the Dwellers’ counter-attacking prowess could be dangerous weapon against the defending champions.
Dwellers coach Peter Gunemba says his side will go into the match with a positive attitude.
“I don’t care how good they, I never fear any teams. I believe in my players and have confidence in my players that they can play better. When I tell them to play they just go down and do something and after the first game they’re feeling much better. Even though we conceded three goals, they can see that we could have scored three goals too”
Meanwhile Auckland City will be aiming to continue their march towards a sixth consecutive regional title. The defending champions played with patience and control in their opening match against the Solomon Warriors.
The Navy Blues have executed their game plan to perfection to deny the ball from their opposition before striking in clinical fashion against a tiring Solomon defence late in the game. Coach Ramon Tribulietx will be looking for much the same against Lae City Dwellers.
“I know they won the final game of the league, the grand final. They’re Papua New Guineans and I know some of the players they’ve got in there so we’ll see what they look like collectively.”
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The players:Former Auckland City striker Adam Dickinson claimed a brace against Lae City Dwellers to get his tournament off to the best possible start. The Dwellers defence struggled with the 29-year-old Englishman’s power and physical presence. Dickinson was well complemented by Kensi Tangis and Diego Nadaya in Amicale’s formidable frontline.
The vital statistics:In their opening Group A match the Vanuatu outfit had 61 per cent of the possession which they used to good effect. Amicale created seven shots on target for their three goals.
Squad list: 1. Mauro BOERCHIO (GK), 2. Ian HOGG, 3. Goshen DONA, 4. Gianmario LIBURDI, 5. Francesco PERRONE, 6. Colin MARSHALL, 7. Antonio VIOLI, 8. Jack WETNEY 9. Adam DICKINSON, 10. Fenedy MASAUVAKOLO, 11. James NAKA, 12. Dominique FRED, 13. Francois SAKAMA, 14. Alphonse BONGNAIM, 15. Diego NADAYA, 17. Nelson SALE, 18. Freddie KINI, 20. Seiloni IARUEL (GK), 21. Giorgio BERTACCHI, 22. Jackson TEMARKON, 24. Octav MELTECOIN, 25. Jacky RUBEN, 26. Diego GALVAO
Coach: Mauro Beroni (ITA)

Solomon Warriors
The players: Solomon Warriors were forced to play a counter-attacking style against a dominant Auckland City side. However, Molea Tigi and Dennis Ifunaoa both looked more than capable of causing some problems on the break.
The vital statistics: The Solomon Warriors had just 26 per cent of the possession in their opening game against Auckland City. Therefore it’s little surprise they didn’t manage a single shot on target. Without the ball the Solomon players had to do a lot of chasing and that took a big toll on them towards the end of the match. The tiring Warriors conceded three late goals.

Squad list: 1. Samson KOTI (GK), 2. Haddis AENGARI, 3. Matson FENNY, 4. Fred FAKARI, 5. Dennis IFUNAOA, 6. Molea TIGI, 9. Jerry DONGA, 10. Albert WITNEY, 11. Ian PAIA 14. Augustine SAMANI, 15. Daniel NATOU, 16. Emmanuel POILA, 18. Henry FA’ARODO 19. Gibson DAUDAU, 21. Brian KALTACK, 22. Milton FURAI, 24. Kensi TANGIS, 26. Loea Mani TAISARA, 27. Benjamin BAEORO, 28. Anthony TALO (GK)
Coach:Moses Toata (SOL)

Lae City Dwellers vs. Auckland City Dwellers
QBE Stadium Oval
Auckland, New Zealand
Wednesday 13 April, 2016
Kick-off: 3.30pm
LAEvAKL OCL
Referee: Médéric LACOUR (NCL)
Assistant Referee 1: Ravinesh KUMAR (FIJ)
Assistant Referee 2: Ujwaal MUDLIAR (FIJ)
Fourth Official: Nelson SOGO (SOL)
Lae City Dwellers
The players: Papua New Guinea internationals and former Hekari United strikers Raymond Gunemba and Nigel Dabinyaba looked dangerous when the debutants pushed forward with some quick counter attacks.
The vital statistics: Despite an only 39 per cent share of the ball the Lae City strikers managed to get behind Amicale’s well organised defence to force three good saves from former Bari keeper Mauro Boerchio.
Squad list: 1. Matheson NASA (GK) 2. Mosebuya-Mosie MILUBWA, 3. Valentine NELSON 4. Goropaul ALBERT, 5. Japhet TIAMPO, 6. Troy GUNEMBA, 7. Raymond GUNEMBA, 8 Michael FOSTER, 9. Nigel DABINYABA, 10. Obert BIKA, 11. Joachim WAROI, 12 Mathew DAVID, 13. Adolf KUMISI, 14. Ken KEPE M, 15. Joshua TALAU, 16. Carlos PEKA, 17. Cyril MUTA, 18. Bewa WILLIE, 19. Esa NASA, 20. Ronald WARISAN (GK) 21. Peter DABINYABA JNR, 22. Billson BULLO, 23. John KICHANI
Coach: Peter Gunemba

Auckland City FC
The players: Auckland City’s depth can be underlined by the fact that two substitute players stole the limelight in their opening Group A match against the Solomon Warriors. 30-year old Portuguese striker Joao Moreiro only came on the 62nd minute but still had time to complete an impressive hat-trick. He was well assisted by Ryan De Vries who entered the field in the 55th minute to wreak havoc amongst the Solomon defenders.
The vi
tal statistics: The seven-time champions were in total control of their opening Group A match against the Solomon Warriors. They recorded 20 shots on goal and 11 on target. They had a whopping 74 per cent possession but they only forced their advantage home in the final 15 minutes.
Squad list: 1. Jacob SPOONLEY (GK), 2. Marko DORDEVIC, 3. Takuya IWATA 4. Mario BILEN, 5. Angel BERLANGA 6. Jesse EDGE, 7. Reid DRAKE, 8. Michael DEN HEIJER, 9. Darren WHITE, 10. Ryan DE VRIES, 11. Te Atawhai HUDSON-WIHONGI, 12. Nicolai BERRY, 13. Alfred ROGERS, 14. Clayton LEWIS, 15. Ivan VICELICH, 16. Daewook KIM, 17. Joao MOREIRA, 18. Danyon DRAKE (GK), 19. Micah LEA’ALFA, 20. Emiliano TADE, 22. Andrew MILNE, 24. Diego RIVAS (GK), 25. Fabrizio TAVANO
Coach: Ramon Tribulietx (ESP)