All eight teams will take to the field on Saturday and, while for most it will be their last hit-out of the campaign, several are still harbouring hopes of booking a meeting in the final with Auckland City, who earned their spot by securing first place in Group B in the previous round.
With the other sides in that pool now having no chance of progressing, most interest will instead centre on Group A, a wide open affair in which three teams remain very much in the running for first place.
The Tahitians of Tefana are in pole position as they lead Waitakere United and Ba by a point and are therefore in control of their own destiny. They travel to Fiji knowing a win over Ba will secure them a final berth – an achievement that would be a first for the club – but Ba will be just as desperate for the victory because three points could also see them finish top.
The need to win is no less great for Waitakere, the other side in the three-pronged race, and the West Aucklanders have no option but to take maximum reward from their home encounter with winless Mont-Dore.
Even a win would not be enough to see them through if Tefana manage to triumph over Ba but three points to Waitakere and a draw in Fiji would put the Kiwis in the final.
The scenario is much simpler in Group A with Auckland looking to continue their impressive run as they build towards the final and the other sides left with only pride to play for. Auckland will travel to Vanuatu to meet Amicale – their first visit to Port Vila since the away leg of the final last season – while Koloale will look to thank their passionate fans with a home win in the Solomon Islands over Papua New Guinea’s Hekari United.
But the atmosphere will be far more tense at Waitakere’s Fred Taylor Park, where one of the key matches of the campaign is set to take place. The teams’ respective track records point to a home win as Mont-Dore have just one draw to show from their five matches but Waitakere have lost their last two and will be under immense pressure to break out of the form slump.
“We just have to do our own job and not worry about what is happening elsewhere,” says Waitakere coach Neil Emblen, who has included himself in the playing squad. “I don’t think you could forgive yourself in that situation if you didn’t do your bit and then the result ended up going your way in the other game. We will need some luck but first and foremost we have to make sure we win.”
Emblen is disappointed to be in this position after starting the season with three wins on the trot but says his men must take confidence from their unbeaten home record, a two-match run that has seen 14 goals scored and none conceded.
“We have been decent at home and need to make sure we impose ourselves on Saturday. Mont-Dore have nothing to lose and will be playing with freedom which can sometimes be tough to come up against.”
Waitakere will be without Chris Bale due to suspension but welcome back fellow midfielder Martin Bullock from his one-game ban.
Emblen and two of his players, Tim Myers and Sean Lovemore, are on a high after helping New Zealand qualify for the London Olympics through the OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifier in Taupo last week. The former English professional coached the Oly Whites to that success and is hoping some of the confidence gained will rub off on his squad.
“I’m thankful to the club for allowing me to do both roles and I want to repay them by finishing the season well. We’ve given ourselves a bit of a steep hill to climb but it would be fantastic if we could make it.”
Ba face an even steeper hill as they must beat leaders Tefana and then hope Waitakere slip up. A Waitakere win would leave Ba needing to hammer Tefana by a massive scoreline to overhaul Waitakere’s far superior goal differential. The Men in Black must aim to do so anyway as both matches kick off at the same time and the sides will therefore not learn of each others’ results until after the final whistles.
Tefana will be boosted by the return from suspension of Taufa Neuffer, Tetiamana Marmouyet and Angelo Tchen while Malakai Kainihewe is suspended for Ba and has been replaced by Meli Codro.
The odds may not be in their favour but the Ba camp are refusing to give up hope of earning their first appearance in an O-League final since 2007.
“Anything can happen on the day,” president Rishikendra Kumar says. “There can always be a miracle, who knows. We are not concerned about the result of the Waitakere match and the boys are taking a positive approach.”
Tense finish for Group A trio
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