Tahiti 4 - Vanuatu 1; New Caledonia 9 - Samoa 0

New Caledonia came onto the field at Honiara knowing that a five-goal win over Samoa would be enough to see them through to the OFC Third Round as one of the top two teams in Group A regardless of the later result between Tahiti and Vanuatu.  Les Cagous of New Caledonia were so sure that they would obtain the big result, they rested Bertrand Kai, Oliver Dokunengo, Dominique Wacalie and Rocky Nyikeine for the semifinal round of the 2012 OFC Nations Cup that begins in three days' time.  Perhaps the knowledge that Jacques Haeko was going to be playing gave Les Cagous the comfort they needed.  Ten minutes in, the first goal was found.  Haeko made it 2-0 a minute later.  Two more goals were find around the midway point of the first half, the second on a penalty kick, giving New Caledonia a 4-0 lead.  New Caledonia scored in the final minute of the half, and then Haeko scored his second in stoppage time for a 6-0 halftime lead.

Haeko waited nearly a half hour to finish his hat trick, but he then proceeded to score in both the final minute of regulation and in second-half stoppage time, bringing his personal account on the day to five goals, including the only three of the second half.  New Caledonia win 9-0, which was enough to see themselves through to the OFC Third Round without worrying about the later match.  Samoa are officially eliminated from Brasil 2014.

Vanuatu came out against Tahiti knowing that they would have to win by five goals or more to overtake Tahiti on goal differential and advance over Tahiti into the OFC Third Round.  In spite of this cushion, Tahiti did not come out and defend because they were looking to win Group A and avoid a likely matchup with New Zealand in the semifinals of the OFC Nations Cup.

Tahiti's Angelo Tchen made a couple of saves with his body, including the second with his head, to prevent his goalkeeper from coming under far.  Teaonui Tehau was chopped down violently by Vanuatu's goalkeeper Enest Bong, who was lucky to escape with only a yellow card.  Tahiti converted on the penalty kick for a 1-0 lead.  Robert Tasso nearly equalized for Vanuatu, but his shot hit the outside of the right post.  Later, Tasso flashed a ball past the left post that was something between a direct strike and a through ball.  On a corner kick with eight minutes left in the first half, Tahiti overloaded the front post only to send the kick to the back post where Johnathan Tehau (pictured, white) leapt high to head home for a 2-0 lead.  The score remained stable through the half.

A dozen minutes after play had resumed, Tchen caught up to a ball on the right side of the endline, at which point he passed to Johnathan Tehau, who flicked a ball unsighted to an open Alvin Tehau to give Tahiti a 3-0 lead.  With a quarter hour left, Alphonse Bongnaim botched an open header at the far post off a Vanuatu corner kick, and with that the match seemed to be wrapped up for Tahiti.  Teanoui Tehau got his revenge on Bong with three minutes left when he calmly finished his solo break toward Vanuatu's goal.  Tasso latched onto a through ball in the final minute of stoppage time and finished by nutmegging the goalkeeper for Vanuatu's consolation goal.  This was the final goal of Group A play, and it finalized Tahiti's 4-1 win and progression as a first place team.  Vanuatu are eliminated from the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Tahiti 9 pts IN
New Caledonia 6 pts IN
Vanuatu OUT
Samoa OUT

Goals
New Caledonia
Roy Kayara 10
Jacques Haeko 11, 45+1, 72, 90, 90+1
Iamel Kabeu 22
Judikael Ixoe 25 PK
Kalas Gnipate 45

Tahiti
Nicolas Vallar 15 PK
Johnathan Tehau 38
Alvin Tehau 57
Teaonui Tehau 87

Vanuatu
Robert Tasso 90+5

Match Reports:
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/e0d0c3ad-80a0-479e-8a2c-618e7576da64/language/en-US/Default.aspx
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/f10f107e-88a6-45e5-8194-ff00e6f5916d/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlFDuS2juiM&feature=g-all-u (New Caledonia v. Samoa)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbGzoz5Awsg&feature=g-all-u (Tahiti v. Vanuatu)

Tahiti 4 - New Caledonia 3; Vanuatu 5 - Samoa 0

Vanuatu and Samoa faced each other on Matchday Two of the OFC Second Round in Honiara.  Both teams needed to win today to regain traction in the race for a top-two finish in Group A with the loser likely to find themselves eliminated by the night's end.  Samoa had the first chance, but Suivai Ataga's breakaway chip attempt was tipped over the bar by Vanuatu goalkeeper Seiloni Iaruel.  Vanuatu asserted their dominance close to the half hour mark when they knocked home the opener.  Iaruel later took down Silao Malo in the box to concede a penalty, but Iaruel saved Andrew Stefano's penalty kick.  In stoppage time, Vanuatu's Brian Kaltak scored a nice volleyed goal off a corner kick to put his side up 2-0 going into the break.

During the first minute of the second period, Vanuatu scored yet again.  With fifteen minutes left in regular time, Vanuatu found their fourth.  Another Vanuatu goal was found in second-half stoppage time from a header off a short free kick, giving the side five goals from five different players and a 5-0 win, their first of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Tahiti and New Caledonia played another edition of their grudge match. Tahiti showed that their big win against Samoa was no fluke.  Angelo Tchen struck a free kick from midfield on a rope, drawing a corner kick.  Alvin Tehau rose up high above his defenders on the resulting corner kick to head home from one meter to put Tahiti up 1-0.  On Tahiti's next corner kick ten minutes later, Georges Gope-Fenepej put his hands in their air and paid dearly for his insolence, drawing a penalty and a red card in minute 28 after he commited a handball on Tchen's shot in the box.  Captain Nicolas Vallar put away the resulting penalty kick for a 2-0 lead.  But three minutes later, Johnathan Tehau (pictured, white) led a 2-1 break for Tahiti and side-chipped the defender to lay the ball off for an open Lorenzo Tehau to slot home for an unexpected 3-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, New Caledonia started to run out of players.  In minute 54, Jean Wakanumune was ejected with a straight red card for a rash tackle.  Teammate Marius Bako (pictured, red) picked up a yellow for dissent and then almost got himself thrown out on the very next play with a bad foul; however, Les Cagous remained only two players and three goals down in the Francophone derby.  Being two men down seemed to ignite a fire under Les Cagous, especially since Tahiti's level of play dropped significantly.  Bako picked up a loose ball after Tahitian goalkeeper Mikael Roche punched away, and Bako expertly lofted a chip over Roche and just under the crossbar for 3-1.  Ten minutes from time, Roche made a great initial save from Jacques Haeko's hid, but Haeko slid into the rebound off the post and was able to finish for 3-2, leading to an unexpectedly dramatic final ten minutes.  A silly free kick was given up by Tahiti, but Roche punched away, leading to a break for Tahiti.  Substitute Roihau Degage struck for a fourth goal for Tahiti, sealing the victory 4-2.  Or so it seemed.  A corner kick flew over the hands of Roche and landed at Dick Kauma's feet with an open net before him.  The scoreline quickly became 4-3 with four minutes left in the match.  Despite their rousing comeback with nine men, New Caledonia lose the match 4-3.

All four teams remain alive coming into the final matchday on Tuesday, though Samoa will need an absolute miracle to sneak through.  Expect New Caledonia to defeat Samoa by at least three goals, leaving Vanuatu in a position where they must defeat Tahiti by at least three goals themselves while scoring more goals than New Caledonia do.  Tahiti will advance so long as they do not suffer a massive loss to Vanuatu; even a three-goal loss would see Tahiti advance.  If New Caledonia win by five goals over Samoa, New Caledonia will be safe regardless of the later result.

Tahiti 6 pts +10 14 goals scored

New Caledonia 3 pts +2 8 goals scored

Vanuatu 3 pts +2 7 goals scored

Samoa 0 pts -14

Goals

Vanuatu

Jean Napropol 26

Brian Kaltak 45+1

Dereck Malas 46

Robert Tasso 74

Fredy Vava 90+3

Tahiti

Alvin Tehau 19

Nicolas Vallar 29 PK

Lorenzo Tehau 32

Roihau Degage 84

New Caledonia

Marius Boka 74

Jacques Haeko 80

Dick Kauam 86

Match Reports:

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1643315/index.html

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/d09c53d0-ea5a-4278-adbe-64ce3feb89c5/language/en-US/Default.aspx

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/59655c3f-250b-4dce-aa7e-a71cecdacee9/language/en-US/Default.aspx

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/8b5e3a13-f858-4d57-9f41-5e7ff783d2cc/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmSEE7miXuo&feature=g-all-u (Vanuatu v. Samoa)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYT1VbLzIfY&feature=relmfu (Tahiti v. New Caledonia)

New Caledonia 5 - Vanuatu 2; Tahiti 10 - Samoa 1

In the opening match of the OFC Second Round in Honiara, Tahiti gave a rude awakening to Samoa as to the increase in level of play from the first round.  The Tehau trio made it a family affair for Tahiti in the early going, with Lorenzo, Johnathan, and Alvin all scoring a goal in the first twenty minutes to put Tahiti up 3-0.  Alvin scored the fourth Tehau goal to make the halftime score 4-0.

Alvin gave way to a fourth Tehau, Teaonui, at the half, and Teaonui scored the fifth Tehau goal early in the second half.  Tahiti added a sixth before Samoa pulled one back o make the score 6-1.  In the final twelve minutes, the Tehau contingent scored four more times, bringing the family's tally to nine for the match, including four goals for Lorenzo, who scored the final three goals of the match in a frantic three-minute span.  Tahiti find themselves at the top of Group A after their 10-1 victory, but two tougher tests lie ahead in New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

Group favorites New Caledonia opened their 2014 FIFA World Cup against a youthful Vanuatu side in the steamy Honiara.  The first thirty minutes of the match were completely dominated by New Caledonia.  Olivier Dokunengo's great midfield play opened the left side of the pitch for Georges Gope-Fenepej (pictured, gray), who was a thorn in Vanuatu's side all match.  He headed a ball over the defense and into the path of Bertrand Kai, who coolly finished for a 1-0 lead.  Gope-Fenepej smoked a left-footed shot off the crossbar that hit the goal line and bounced out.  Vanuatu found their footing in the match in the final fifteen minutes of the half, drawing a sprawling save from goalkeeper Rocky Nyikeine.  On the very next play, Nyikeine was caught in no man's land, but Dominique Wacalie was there to head clear a great offensive header by Vanuatu's Joseph Namariau to preserve the 1-0 lead going into the half.

The second half was a goalfest.  Vanuatu maintained their momentum and scored after a through ball from Namariau found Robert Tasso, who finished on the run at the near post.  Kai expertly flicked a header over an onrushing Enest Bong to restore New Caledonia's lead against the run of play, 2-1.  But three minutes later, Vanuatu on the corner kick found an unmarked Brian Kaltack, who nodded a header into the crossbar, but Jean Napropol put the rebound home for a 2-2 equalizer.  Again against the run of play, Kai saved a ball at the end line and put in a great cross to Gope-Fenepej, who had cut across Kaltack to find open space.  Gope-Fenepej finished deftly for 3-2.  Kai assured himself man-of-the-match status with an absolute wonder-strike to give New Caledonia a 4-2 and himself a hat trick.  After a late own-goal, New Caledonia won the match 5-2.

Group A play resumes in two days' time on 3 June 2012.

Goals

Tahiti

Lorenzo Tehau 8, 83, 84, 85.

Johnathan Tehau 17, 78

Alvin Tehau 19, 38

Teaonui Tehau 54

Steevy Chong Hue 60

Samoa

Silao Malo 70

New Caledonia

Bertrand Kai 32, 58, 76

Georges Gope-Fenepej 66

Roy Kayara 87

Vanuatu

Robert Tasso 52

Jean Napropol 61

Match Reports:

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/cebf1dc7-8145-4dda-afcf-25c0bf76708e/language/en-US/Default.aspx

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/525afe82-f1fb-45c2-82b0-531f1466dfdf/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAh97mK-0xo (Tahiti v. Samoa)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKNFE4f97wY&feature=g-all-s (New Caledonia v. Vanuatu)