The Papua New Guinea giants scored four unanswered goals past Tafea to draw them level on points with the Vanuatu club champions and with a better goal difference, Hekari are now second on the table, just two points behind Lautoka who beat Marist 3-0 in Fiji yesterday to claim top spot.
Tafea had shown strong form throughout the competition and were leading the group going into Match Day 4 but Hekari assistant coach Tommy Mana says his side were not overawed by the challenge.
“We had respect for them going into the game but our plan was to attack and unsettle them and our game plan worked out right,” Mana said.
The 3000 fans at PMRL stadium didn’t have long to wait for the opening goal with Fijian connection Tuimasi Manuca slotting home after 15 minutes.
As Hekari stepped up a gear, the star of the show was the ever-present but little known left flanker Alick Maemae who scored the first of his two goals on 20 minutes. The Solomon Islands import joined Hekari for the second half of the O-League and proved an instant hit with local supporters. His first goal came from a corner which Tafea defenders failed to clear and at short range Maemae scuffed the ball into the net.
Five minutes before half time, Manuca ran onto an Andrew Lepani throw and cut the ball across the goalmouth to Kema Jack who back heeled the ball for Maemae to slot home for his second and Hekari’s third.
Tafea opened the second half with more aggression but a lack of discipline and structure meant they were soon back peddling again.
The Hekari coaching stuff made a timely substitution midway through the half replacing Jack with Joachim Waroi.
“It was part of our plan to keep Joachim Waroi in case we needed him.” Mana said.
Sure enough Waroi struck in the 70th minute when he dribbled the ball past three Tafea defenders to get clear before sliding the ball past goalkeeper Malas.
The win means Hekari are back in contention to qualify for the home-and-away final against the winner of Group A to decide OFC’s representative at the FIFA Club World Cup 2010. But they face an uphill battle with two away games remaining against Lautoka and Marist respectively.
For all results and schedule, click here .
Photo courtesy Post-Courier.