PAPEETE: Pirae took a giant step towards securing the defence of its championship title with a closely fought 1-0 win over rivals Tefana last weekend. Hungry to avenge their defeat to Tefana in the last meeting of the two teams in the Tahiti Cup final, Pirae got the points and now head the top four pack by three points ahead of round 3 this week.
Manu Ura also kept itself in the hunt with a commanding 5-1 win over hapless Tamarii Faa’a with marksman Ramon Djamali to the fore with a hat-trick of goals. The win propels Manu Ura to second place on the ladder on goal difference ahead of Tefana who beat them in the first round of the playoffs.
Tamarii Faa’a languishes at the bottom without a win but will look to redress that anomaly when they take on Tefana this week while Pirae faces a tough challenge against Manu Ura. With the cream of the Tahitian national squad spread amongst the four teams, the players will all be hoping to perform at their maximum over the remaining rounds with national team selection looming ahead of the OFC Nations Cup/World Cup qualifiers in May.
Tahiti Championship playoffs
Results:
Week 2
Pirae-Tefana 1-0
Manu Ura-Tamarii Faa¹a 5-1
Points ladder (top four)
Teams Pts P W D L F A Diff
1. Pirae 8 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4
2. Manu Ura 5 2 1 0 1 5 2 +3
3. Tefana 5 2 1 0 1 1 1 0
4. Tam. Faa¹a 2 2 0 0 2 2 9 -7
Key: win 4 pts, draw 2 pts, defeat 1 pt.
Round 3 draw
Pirae-Manu Ura
Tamarii Faa¹a-Tefana
Round 4 draw
Pirae-Tamarii Faa¹a
Manu Ura-Tefana
Tahiti Championship – promotion/relegation
Results:
Week 2
Vénus-Arue 7-0
Dragon-PTT 3-0
Round 3 draw
Arue-Dragon
Vénus-PTT
Round 4 draw
Arue-PTT
Dragon-Vénus
Points Table (Promotion/relegation)
Teams Pts P W D L F A Diff
1. Vénus 8 2 2 0 0 8 0 +8
2. Dragon 5 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2
3. PTT 5 2 1 0 1 2 4 -2
4. Arue 2 2 0 0 2 1 9 -8