The high-flying Fiji national team flexed their muscles and thumped PNG with a decisive 5-1 victory during their Pool B clash opener of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Men’s Nations Cup on Sunday, June 16th, 2024, at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva, Fiji.
Right from the get-go, the Fijians made a fiery start and found the back of the net after two minutes into the contest. Since then, it has been a seesawing affair, with both teams having a fair share of territorial play. A few minutes left before the break, the hosts scored another goal and took a handy 2-0 lead over PNG at half time.
Fiji maintained their momentum in the second stanza, scoring two more goals in the first 10 minutes of play to extend their lead to 4-0. The home side scored again in the third quarter and the visitors bagged a consolation goal, leaving the full-time score with 5-1.
In the earlier match, Tahiti smashed Samoa 2-0. The Tahitians have proven too strong against the courageous Samoan outfit. Tahiti were leading 2-0 at half time but failed to extend their goal scoring streak in the second spell. Samoa defended well in the second half and went down fighting valiantly.
Fiji, Tahiti, PNG and Samoa are grouped in Pool B. While Tahiti and Fiji have the upper hand, it’s going to be do-or-die battles for both PNG and Samoa respectively in the next matches. The race to semi-final berth in Vanuatu begins.
Photo Credit: fijilive.com
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