The Cook Islanders sent out a warning to the three other sides battling to progress to the next stage of the Oceania qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE 2013 in hitting seven goals to Tonga’s solitary strike but it was the local derby that brought the most excitement in the form of a 2-2 thriller at J.S. Blatter Football Complex in Apia.
The hosts began brightly and American Samoa goalkeeper Frederick Maiava was forced to tip over a free kick from the impressive Paulo Scanlan in the opening stages in front of a boisterous home crowd. But those fans were stunned into silence on ten minutes when American Samoa took the lead against the run of play, skillful winger Kaleopa Siligi latching on to a Neemia Kaleopa pass and firing a volley into the far corner.
The lead wasn’t to last long though and Samoa were soon back on level terms when Filisi Keni bent a free kick into the top corner from the edge of the area to the great delight of their vocal supporters just five minutes later.
Pre-tournament expectations would have suggested that Samoa would then go on to dominate the game but American Samoa continued to more than hold their own and again went in front after Sinisi Tua pounced on a loose ball in the Samoan box and lobbed goalkeeper Raymond Tafeaga.
That put the onus on Samoa to respond and the type of fierce contest one would expect from a local derby began to unfold in the second spell as the leaders looked to extend their advantage and the home side fought to get back into the game. Several players were forced from the field due to injury as the physical nature of the match took its toll and it was a typical robust challenge, by Palepoi Mauga on Samoan substitute Livigisitone Taloto, that led to Fijian referee Rakesh Varman pointing to the spot and allowing Samoa the chance to equalise on 69 minutes.
Dead ball specialist Keni stepped up to score his second of the afternoon with a well-hit drive into the top corner but, despite pushing forward as the clocked ticked down, Samoa couldn’t find the winner their rowdy fans so craved and the sides had to settle for a share of the spoils.
“This is the first time our boys have played at international level so it’s a new experience for them and now they know what it’s like,” Samoa assistant coach Phineas Young said.
“We didn’t take this game lightly and we know that American Samoa have never beaten Samoa at any level so we’d been telling the boys that it was important to keep that record going. I think we were lucky to be able to come back and get the draw and we will need to score more goals in our second game so that we can stay in the tournament.”
American Samoa coach Junior Mikaele was disappointed not to have posted a victory after taking the lead twice.
“We let one slip away from us,” he said. ““Our players showed great energy in the first half and then sort of slacked off in the second half, allowing for that penalty kick that helped Samoa to tie the game.”
The second match of the day was nowhere near as tight as the Cook Islands showed just why they are favoured to take the title with a dismantling of the Tongan defence.
New Zealand-based striker Maro Bonsu-Maro did most of the first-half damage, opening the scoring from close range in just the sixth minute and notching his second on 37 minutes as captain Pekay Edwards, who was forced off with injury soon after finding the net in the ninth minute, and defender Sunai Joseph also got in on the act. The unfortunate Mateo Pahulu didn’t help matters for Tonga as he sliced a clearance into his own goal shortly before the break but standout striker Hemaloto Polovili did offer some respite from the onslaught in the 43rd minute when he drove home from the edge of the box.
At 6-1 down, Tonga were then left with a massive hill to climb in the second half and it was one they were never likely to overcome but they did produce a more solid rearguard effort to restrict the Cook Islands to just one further goal, scored by substitute Morgan Wichman ten minutes after the interval.
“It was a very tough start for us but we made most of our mistakes in the first half and we defended a lot better in the second half,” Tonga coach Timote Moleni said.
Cook Islands counterpart Tuka Tisam also commented on the contrasting nature of the two spells.
“I thought the boys played really well in the first half but they slowed it down in the second half because they’d already done the job,” he said. “It was important to start with a win and we will be looking to do the same in the next match but I think we need to press harder and keep possession for longer.”
The OFC U-17 Championship Preliminary returns on Thursday with Samoa taking on traditional sporting rivals Tonga at 3pm and Cook Islands facing American Samoa from 5pm.
Match Summary Samoa – American Samoa click here
Match Summary Tonga – Cook Islands click here
Match Day 1 Competition Summary click here
Match Day 1 Disciplinary Summary click here

Share