Auckland City are in a three-way struggle to progress to the knockout stages of the OFC Men’s Champions League after a second day of Group A games in Tahiti.
While Auckland City snatched a late 1-0 against Papua New Guinea’s Hekari United, Fiji’s Rewa backed up their impressive 2-2 draw with Auckland City on Match Day 1 with a 3-2 comeback victory over Solomon Warriors in Stade Paea in Tahiti.
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Against the Solomon Warriors, Rewa started slowly and found themselves a goal down after 15 minutes.
Gagame Feni took advantage of an excellent midfield interception from Jaygray Sipakana before racing through on goal and slotting confidently past Isikeli Sevanaia.
Feni almost doubled the lead soon after but his effort from distance flew just over the crossbar and Rewa survived.
Another effort from distance from the powerful forward found a similar fate as the Warriors chased a second.
Two goals in the space of seven minutes at the end of the half then turned the match on its head.
The influential Setareki Hughes surged forward from midfield, finding time and space just inside the Warriors’ penalty area, before checking back onto his left and firing low past Sevanaia into the near corner.
Minutes later, the Fijians took the lead.
A through ball found Samu Kautoga after his perfectly timed run and the forward’s low effort evaded the goalkeeper’s grasp and rolled into the far corner to make it 2-1.
A little more than twenty minutes from full-time and Rewa FC made the three points safe. Josaia Sela timed his run excellently before rounding the goalkeeper and side-footing home to make it 3-1.
Solomon Warriors made the final fifteen minutes a little nerve-wracking for Rewa when Feni grabbed his second of the afternoon, nodding in at the back post to bring the deficit to one.
Feni was presented with a half chance with minutes left on the clock, chesting down well in the area before firing his subsequent effort over the bar.
With four points from their opening two matches, Rewa now face a crucial final group stage match against Papua New Guinea’s Hekari United lon Saturday (NZT).
As for Solomon Warriors, defeat confirms an early exit, with a final test against defending champions Auckland City to come.
Photo credit: Player of the Match, Rewa’s Setareki Hughes. OFC Media / Phototek.
Acknowledgement
We are grateful for the help of OFC Media in providing the information for this story.
Results
Game played on Wednesday May 15, 2024 (NZT)
Auckland City 1 (Liam Gillion 90+3′)
Hekari United 0
Solomon Warriors 2 (Gagame Feni 15′, 72′)
Rewa 3 (Setareki Hughes 40′, Samu Kautoga 45+2′, Josaia Sela 70′)
Fixtures
Games to be played on Saturday May 18, 2024 )NZT)
Hekari United v Rewa
Papeete, Tahiti, 10am (NZT)
Auckland City v Solomon Warriors
Papeete, Tahiti, 1pm (NZT)
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