Solomon Islands 1 - New Zealand 1; Papua New Guinea 1 - Fiji 1

The opening match of the final matchday of OFC Group B took place between Papua New Guinea and Fiji in Honiara.  Fiji needed a win in order to avoid elimination from Brasil 2014.  Nearing the quarter hour mark, Fiji jumped on a poor punch by the opposing goalkeeper Leslie Kalai and scored after having a two-header combination in the box.  Alvin Singh headed to a crouching Maciu Dunadamu, who scored Fiji's first goal of the 2014 FIFA World Cup to give his side a 1-0 lead.  Three minutes later, the luckless Osea Vakatalesau chipped over the onrushing Kalai, but the ball drifted wide.  Roy Krishna sent a left-foot bomb just over the crossbar seven minutes later.  The half ended without any further goals, so it was 1-0 Fiji.  Fijian centerback Samuela Vula was his usual self in the first period, replete with crunching tackles and solid clearances.

Just seven minutes after the restart, the Kapuls' Raymond Gunemba botched an open header at the far post which would have tied the match.  Twenty minutes into the half, Eric Komeng got hold of a rebound, but he too shot wide of the Fijian goal.  One minute later, Fiji substitute Apisai Smith toe-poked a rebound to Dunadamu, who shot high of goal.  Smith continued to wreak havoc with the Kapuls' backline, and he force a great save from Kalai.  Six minutes from time, a Papua New Guinea free kick hit an open Kema Jack, who headed the ball home into the corner with some side spin, and the game was equalized.  The crowd in Honiara went crazy because the draw would qualify their Solomon Islands side to the OFC Third Round and eliminate Fiji.  Dunadamu had one final chance to win for Fiji, but his toe-poke was smothered by Kalai as Kalai came sliding forward.  The final score was 1-1.  With the draw, Fiji are eliminated from the 2014 FIFA World Cup with two points earned from three matches as they were chasing a Solomon Islands team that had already amassed four points through two games.

Solomon Islands had advanced to the OFC Third Round thanks to Fiji's result but still had a chance to win Group B later in the day against New Zealand.  The host Bonitos got to play before a capacity crowd in Honiara that was ready for further celebration after already having seen the Bonitos qualify after the earlier 1-1 draw.  After eight minutes, Rory Fallon struck a header at the Bonitos' goal, but Jeffery Bule was there to head it off the line.  The rain began shortly thereafter, but quickly went away.  Leo Bertos sent a nice chipped ball to Chris Wood that beat the offside trap just as the rain stopped falling.  Wood let the ball hit his chest before spinning left and then firing off the volley past goalkeeper Felix Ray to give New Zealand a 1-0 lead.  Benjamin Totori (pictured, yellow) of the Solomon Islands had been rested for the previous game against Fiji with the intent of unleashing him against the Kiwis.  Henry Fa'arodo ran a ball down at the end line and slotted a pass to Totori who blasted into the side netting, giving many in the crowd the illusion of an equalizer.  New Zealand took a 1-0 lead into the half despite resting numerous players for the semifinal stage of the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, including Shane Smeltz, Tony Lochhead, and Ivan Vicelich. 

The second half was the Totori showcase.  Five minutes in, he slalomed around three defenders before threading a ball that crept along the face of goal with no teammates around for the tap in.  Two minutes later, centerback Michael Boxall was forced to intervene to clear the Kiwi lines.  Five minutes after that, Totori slalomed over thirty yards to make his way into the box, at which point he unleashed a shot into the far post upper ninety for the equalizer that sent the crowd into quite a frenzy.  Five minutes after that, Fallon headed to the far post for New Zealand but Ray was there to punch away.  Three minutes on, Kiwi goalkeeper Jake Gleeson (pictured, blue) had to use his knee to block a shot from the onrushing Joses Nawo.  The game slowed considerably for twenty minutes or so, but Adam McGeorge did coax another great save out of Ray.  Deep into stoppage time, the Bonitos looked to be on the verge of a shock victory.  First, Fa'arodo went straight for goal from a short angled free kick from the left, but he blasted too high.  Immediately after regaining possession, Totori again slalmoed  down the left flank before ripping a last gasp shot just wide of the post.  New Zealand escape with a 1-1 draw and top Group B ahead of second-place Solomon Islands.

New Zealand 7 pts IN
Solomon Islands 5 pts IN
Fiji OUT
Papua New Guinea OUT

Goals
Fiji
Maciu Dunadamu 14

Papua New Guinea
Kema Jack 85

New Zealand
Chris Wood 14

Solomon Islands
Benjamin Totori 57

Match Reports:
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/223b4d94-2d17-4bf6-89f0-abd33931a9b8/language/en-US/Default.aspx
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/04d7aad7-ea32-4d54-90be-0effb2738cfa/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNcH8tW-3oM&feature=g-all-u (Papua New Guinea v. Fiji)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDIiMvLdZg4&feature=g-all-u (Solomon Islands v. New Zealand)

Fiji 0 - Solomon Islands 0; New Zealand 2 - Papua New Guinea 1

Photo by Photosport employee

The matches of the OFC Second Round rival those of CONMEBOL when it comes to drama this month in qualifying for Brasil 2014.  The All Whites of New Zealand made their second appearance in Honiara in three days, this time against Papua New Guinea.  After only one minute and change had elapsed, Kiwi Jeremy Brockie sent in a cross that was nodded home by Shane Smeltz (pictured, white), giving New Zealand an early 1-0 lead for the second time in as many matches.  However, after a quarter hour New Zealand no longer had control of the match.  Three minutes before time, the Kapuls nearly equalized, but Mike Foster's long shot was tipped over the bar by Jake Gleeson.  The Kiwis lead 1-0 at the break.

Raymond Gunemba missed an open header in the box two minutes after play restarted.  The Kapuls were caught with both fullbacks forward seven minutes later, and Smeltz played a great ball across the box to Chris Wood, who finished for a 2-0 lead.  Smeltz hit the crossbar four minutes after that.  From then on, the Kapuls looked dangerous.  Substitute Neil Hans slid to cross to shoot off a low cross, and the ball floated just over the crossbar, but Hans scored five minutes later from the penalty spot after Tony Lochhead had handled a Hans shot in the penalty area.  New Zealand held on for the 2-1 win.

Hosts Solomon Islands then took to the pitch against Fiji in an exciting rivalry match in Honiara.  This may have been the most up-and-down match of the entire 2014 FIFA World Cup so far.  Fijian striker Osea Vakatalesau missed on a solo breakaway five minutes into the match.   Eight minutes after that, Henry Fa'arodo appeared to have netted the opener for the host Bonitos, but he was ruled offside, which he realized after his celebration had begun.  Four minutes later, Fa'arodo's shot was parried aside by Fiji goalkeeper Simione Tamanisau.  Joe Luwi got onto the rebound but drove his shot right back to Tamanisau.  Ten minutes after that, Pita Bolaitoga reached up with the hand of god to score an illegal goal, for which he received a yellow card.  Vakatalesau came close twice in the next twelve minutes, the second time heading over the crossbar from around ten yards with Bonitos goalkeeper Felix Ray beaten.  Three minutes after that, Joe Luwi's cross found James Naka's head.  The header bounced off the ground and toward the underside of the crossbar, but Tamanisau tipped it over.  Despite twenty-shots (thirteen for Fiji), the first half ended scoreless.

In the second period, old soccer adages were disobeyed.  Thirteen minutes after the whistle to resume was blown, Fiji had two headers in the box off a corner.  Two headers always equals a goal, but Alvin Singh sent the second one off frame.  Three minutes later, Ray smothered Roy Krishna's one-on-one breakaway to keep the hosts level at zero goals apiece.  With three minutes left in the match, Bolaitoga knocked a header home, but he was deemed to be offside.  Two minutes later, Vakatalesau was stonewalled by Ray who then immediately rolled an outlet pass to the right side that led to Nicolas Muri getting into the box, but his shot was pushed away by Tamanisau.  Despite fifteen shots in the second half (eight for Fiji), the match ended at 0-0.

With the tie in the second match of the day, New Zealand secure their progression to the OFC Third Round with one match remaining.  Papua New Guinea are eliminated from the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but they do have a match left against Fiji on 6 June 2012.  Solomon Islands will host New Zealand in the last match in Group B.  The crazy scenario of the final matchday is as follows: if both New Zealand and Fiji win by exactly one goal and Fiji score exactly one more goal than the Solomon Islands do during Matchday Three, then qualification will be decided by a drawing of lots between the Solomon Islands and Fiji.

New Zealand 6 pts IN
Solomon Islands 4 pts +1 1 goal scored
Fiji 1 pts -1 0 goals scored
Papua New Guinea OUT

Goals
New Zealand
Shane Smeltz 2
Chris Wood 54

Papua New Guinea
Neil Hans 87 PK

Match Reports
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/eb30638e-c428-438c-b428-6b5ae7000f1a/language/en-US/Default.aspx
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/2f537946-88bb-4959-a419-b4340039046e/language/en-US/Default.aspx
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1643812/index.html?intcmp=newsreader_news_box_3

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLM7JLIBxkU&feature=g-all-u (New Zealand v. Papua New Guinea)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMA-4YBMRd0&feature=g-all-u (Fiji v. Solomon Islands)

New Zealand 1 - Fiji 0; Solomon Islands 1 - Papua New Guinea 0

On another stifling day in Honiara, OFC favorites New Zealand began their 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign against Fiji, the only team to defeat the All Whites in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  Leo Bertos whipped in a free kick early in that match which should have been easily handled by Fijian goalkeeper Simione Tamanisau, but a rebound squirted loose and captain Tommy Smith put New Zealand up 1-0 off the rebound.  The rest of the match was dominated by Fiji.  Avinesh Surawy blasted a free kick through the Kiwi wall and toward the back of the net twenty minutes after the opener, but goalkeeper Mark Paston saved his team's fortunes with a diving save.  New Zealand went into the break up 1-0.

Four minutes after the restart, Roy Krishna backheeled a ball into the path of the onrushing Osea Vakatalesau, but Paston again tipped the shot on the dive.  But a minute later, Paston gave up a rebound but fell on the ball only to suffer an injury on the ensuing foul. Replacement Jake Gleeson performed admirably the rest of the way to preserve the hard-fought if not well-deserved 1-0 win for New Zealand.  The result was harsh for Fiji, who will now need a positive result in their next game against the hosts Solomon Islands.

Papua New Guinea paid their first visit since 1994 to the Solomon Islands to take on the hosts Bonitos in front of a packed Tawson Lama Stadium crowd in Honiara.  The Bonitos pipped a dream start when Benjamin Totori latched onto a loose ball to slot home at the near post for a 1-0 lead that sent the stadium into a frenzy.  IPapuan defenders Kelly Jampu and Daniel Joe may well be having nightmares about Jack Wetney after Wetney absolutely dominated the left side of the pitch for the Bonitos, but the further attacks by the Bonitos were unable to stretch the lead, which remained 1-0 at the break.

Off a corner early in the second half, centerback Tome Faisi nearly fired the Bonitos into a two-goal lead, but the crossbar denied him.  This seemed to ignite Papua New Guinea, and forwards Kema Jack and Raymond Gunemba.  Hardies Aengari came back on a dead sprint to block an open Jack shot and preserve the shutout, but Papua New Guinea maintained their edge for the remainder of the match.  However, much to the relief of the stressed-out crowd, the Bonitos held out for a 1-0 win to go joint-top with the vaunted Kiwis.

Group B resumes on 4 June 2012.

Goals
New Zealand
Tommy Smith 9

Solomon Islands
Benjamin Totori 5

Match Reports:
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/0c95e2d6-8b44-485f-8133-5d0a5e5b2204/language/en-US/Default.aspx
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/899d4ca8-67d2-48ac-adba-f827cf42d505/language/en-US/Default.aspx
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1642834/index.html

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P_dotDHMng&list=PL9222DBA7DAA9CCCB&index=3&feature=plpp_video (New Zealand v. Fiji)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCIon5tGWXQ&feature=relmfu (Solomon Islands v. Papua New Guinea)