The matches are part of each team’s preparations for the upcoming Pacific Games and it is Solomon Islands who will be the more confident, having beaten Vanuatu 2-1 prior to the weekend’s stalemate.
The Bonitos were pushed hard for the win on Thursday by a youthful Vanuatu line-up and the going was always likely to be tougher in the second match as Solomon coach Jacob Moli looked to give some of the younger members of his squad a taste of international action.
Those youngsters showed sparks of brilliance but the goals failed to come as Vanuatu put in a strong defensive showing to keep the Solomon attack in check.
The home side dominated the opening quarter of an hour and very nearly scored when Ian Paia headed the ball just inches over the crossbar from a corner after ten minutes. Just moments later, futsal international and Amicale striker Jack Wetney slammed the ball wide from outside the penalty box.
As was the case on Thursday, Robert Tasso was Vanuatu’s danger man and twice in the first half he threatened to put the visitors in front. His first shot forced a low save from Jimmy Qwaina and the second was a free kick which required a precise finger-tip save.
At the other end of the park, Vanuatu goalkeeper Ernest Bong was also kept busy by Paia and Carrol Kakate but he was up to the task and kept the young Solomon Islands strikers from finding the net.
The Bonitos’ best chance of the second half came from a 35-yard free kick from a tight angle. Joachim Waroi scored some stunning free kicks for Marist Fire in the Telekom S-League and he almost added another to his tally but Bong was on hand to pull off the best save of the day.
Coach Moli was frustrated by the Bonitos’ failure to score but acknowledged that Vanuatu were composed at the back and made things hard for his side.
“It was combination of nerves and lack of cohesiveness that affected the performance,” he said.
“But that is to be expected because most of the players were playing their first senior international. Vanuatu did well to deny us a win in front of our fans and their defence was in good shape, better than on Thursday.”
Vanuatu coach Saby Natonga was pleased to see his young side bounce back from the previous defeat to post a more positive result.
“These young boys have been faithful in training since day one and I am very proud of their performance today,” he said.
“I have only two senior experienced players in Robert Youlou and Saimata Chilia. The rest of the players are all young and it is their first time playing for the national men’s team.
“We have missed a few chances to score but, at the end of the day, 0-0 is a good result for my young team.”
Vanuatu will host the Solomon Islands for the return matches on July 27 and 30, the latter being national independence day.
For more on Solomon Islands football go to www.siff.com.sb