After drawing 3-3 with Tiga Sport on Saturday, Felix Tagawa’s side got the point they needed to pull themselves in line with AS Magenta on 70 points.
With a goal difference of 38 compared with their rivals 23, they’re looking good to take the title.
However the club must now wait for the penalties to be tallied before they will learn if they’ve achieved an historic double.
Hienghène coach Felix Tagawa led his side to the Coupe de Caledonie title last month and they came close to a place in Round 8 of the Coupe de France, however admits that the league title would be a great addition to the trophy cabinet.
“I’m satisifed with 2015 beacuse we won the Cup back. We’ve taken it back to the north. But we want the title,” he says.
Tagawa says this season he set himself some specific objectives and he’s pleased to say that even without the national title, he’s managed to achieve them.
“I wanted to concentrate on the mental aspect, the spirit of the competition and each individual, to give them new objectives all the time to push them.
“I also wanted to work on the tactical aspects of the game because the technique and the fitness, my players already have those elements.”
Hienghène is blessed with a number of individual talents in its ranks, among them 2011 OFC Player of the Year Bertrand Kai who continues to play a crucial role for both club and country.
“Individually, they are very good players,” Tagawa says of the team he has assembled.
“We just have to make sure that they hold on to their adrenalin, their ambition and their humility – the essential values.”
He adds that he knew the club were in the midst of what could be their biggest season to date, around May.
“It was during the match against Ne Drehu last May at Lifou,” he recalls.
“Despite a number of red cards, against a very good side, we won 5-0. I saw fighters on the field, warriors, in the most positive sense of the term.
“I said then that we could use that in the future.”
AS Magenta are their closest rivals for the title at this point, but Tagawa says they’re not the team he was most impressed by this season.
“We know Magenta well. It’s a great team which is imposing given the players and it’s experienced coach. But it’s like Paris or Lyon, we know they’re going to be high on the table.
“However, I was impressed by the “surprise” teams like Wetr or Wacaélé.”
Speaking of surprises, few could have expected the club from New Caledonia’s northern east coast to be leading a championship side at half-time in a Coupe de France match.
But Hienghène did just that and looked on track to secure a milestone victory over Epernay in mid-November.
“We worked hard on that match. We studied the team well and we had a well-defined game plan. We also recovered well from our trip to France.
“Our tactice was to apply pressure from the outset and see how they coped with it, and for the most part it worked.”
Hienghène missed out on Round 8 after several controversial decisions saw Epernay stage a strong second-half comeback to claim a 3-2 win, but Tagawa hasn’t dwelled on the matter.
“I haven’t really had time to think about it really,” he says, “I haven’t even rewatched the game.
“Straight away I had to concentrate on the championship and our match against Baco just four days later.”
While he waits to find out if the season will end with joy or disappointment Tagawa has plenty to keep himself busy.
He is currently one of five coaches from New Caledonia, currently in Auckland to complete Part 1 of the inaugural OFC/NZF A Licence.
For more on New Caledonia football visit www.fedcalfoot.com
Additional reporting via Les Nouvelles Caledoniennes www.lnc.nc

Share