World Cup Qual. OFC
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฎ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ท๐ถ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐.
last year - 11/14/2024 5:47 PM GMT-3
Papua New Guineaโs first menโs international on home soil has yielded an exciting draw with Fiji, to keep both teams in the hunt for a semi-final place.
In front of a passionate home crowd, Felipe Vega-Arangoโs side started strongly but were just unable to keep hold of their advantage.
Just two minutes were on the clock when the home team opened the scoring โ Joseph Joe taking advantage of a loose ball to drive home from inside the area.
They held the lead for much of the first period, as Fiji toiled in attack, unable to deal with their opponentsโ aggressive press.
When the leveller did arrive, it was thanks to some excellent play by Setareki Hughes, making his way down the right-hand side and lifting a delicate cross for the onrushing Thomas Dunn to head in from six yards out.
Parity lasted only a matter of minutes, as Ati Kepo pounced on a loose ball in the box and acrobatically lifted the ball over his own shoulder and past a despairing Jerome Narayan in the Fiji goal.
To their credit, Fiji hit back strongly after the break and were gifted a great chance to equalise from the penalty spot. Roy Krishna โ so often Fijiโs hero โ made no mistake, smashing past Dave Tomare to make it 2-2.
Fiji almost snatched the lead, when Nabil Begg met Sterling Vasconcellosโ cross with an excellent header that faded just wide of Tomareโs right-hand post.
As the clock ticked down, both teams were determined to keep fighting to seal the deal. It came just in time for Raymond Gunemba, who delivered a powerful header that found the back of the net, igniting the home crowd.
However, just seconds later, Fiji had the final say. Merrill Nand responded with a well-placed header, leaving Papua New Guinea in disbelief and ending the game in a dramatic 3-3 draw.
The result leaves Papua New Guinea still alive in Group A, but they will have to beat Solomon Islands on Sunday and hope for the best.
Papua New Guinea:ย 3 (Joseph JOE 2โ, Ati KEPO 45โ, Raymond GUNEMBA 90+4โฒ)
Fiji:ย 3 (Thomas DUNN 43โ, Roy KRISHNA (P) 54โฒ, Merrill NAND 90+5โฒ)
HT: 2-1
Visit ofcfootball.com for more details.
In front of a passionate home crowd, Felipe Vega-Arangoโs side started strongly but were just unable to keep hold of their advantage.
Just two minutes were on the clock when the home team opened the scoring โ Joseph Joe taking advantage of a loose ball to drive home from inside the area.
They held the lead for much of the first period, as Fiji toiled in attack, unable to deal with their opponentsโ aggressive press.
When the leveller did arrive, it was thanks to some excellent play by Setareki Hughes, making his way down the right-hand side and lifting a delicate cross for the onrushing Thomas Dunn to head in from six yards out.
Parity lasted only a matter of minutes, as Ati Kepo pounced on a loose ball in the box and acrobatically lifted the ball over his own shoulder and past a despairing Jerome Narayan in the Fiji goal.
To their credit, Fiji hit back strongly after the break and were gifted a great chance to equalise from the penalty spot. Roy Krishna โ so often Fijiโs hero โ made no mistake, smashing past Dave Tomare to make it 2-2.
Fiji almost snatched the lead, when Nabil Begg met Sterling Vasconcellosโ cross with an excellent header that faded just wide of Tomareโs right-hand post.
As the clock ticked down, both teams were determined to keep fighting to seal the deal. It came just in time for Raymond Gunemba, who delivered a powerful header that found the back of the net, igniting the home crowd.
However, just seconds later, Fiji had the final say. Merrill Nand responded with a well-placed header, leaving Papua New Guinea in disbelief and ending the game in a dramatic 3-3 draw.
The result leaves Papua New Guinea still alive in Group A, but they will have to beat Solomon Islands on Sunday and hope for the best.
Papua New Guinea:ย 3 (Joseph JOE 2โ, Ati KEPO 45โ, Raymond GUNEMBA 90+4โฒ)
Fiji:ย 3 (Thomas DUNN 43โ, Roy KRISHNA (P) 54โฒ, Merrill NAND 90+5โฒ)
HT: 2-1
Visit ofcfootball.com for more details.
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