Solomon Islands Advance To Semi-finals As Vanuatu Win To Boost Their Chances At OFC Men's Olympic Qualifier 2023

The ten men of Solomon Islands impressively saw off Samoa in their second Group B match to secure their place in the semi-finals at OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifier in Auckland.

Despite going a man down after Alford Kanahanimae saw a straight red for a lunging tackle on Samoa’s Luke Salisbury, Solomon Islands were by far the better side and well worth the 3-0 margin.

Kyah Cahill almost scored a consolation for Samoa after he dispossessed goalkeeper Petua in the box but the resulting effort was blocked. Juan Gobbi’s follow-up was then well saved by the recovering Petua.

Samoa will now face Vanuatu with both sides vying for second place in the group and a semi-final berth. Solomon Islands will look to complete a 100% group stage record when they face Tonga.

Solomon Islands: 3 (Junior ROCKY 39, Javin WAE 60, Ben FOX 64)
Samoa: 0

HT: 1-0

Vanuatu have kept their hopes live of qualifying for the semi-finals at the OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifier after a 3-0 win over Tonga at The Trusts Arena in Auckland.

Both sides had come off 3-0 defeats by Samoa and the Solomon Islands respectively and the result means Tonga are effectively eliminated from semi-final contention while Vanuatu will need a result against Samoa in their final group game to have a chance of progressing.

Two goals in either half did the damage as Vanuatu dominated proceedings throughout the 90 minutes. Tonga were reduced to 10 men in the second half when defender Kulisitofa Kite received a second yellow card after a cynical trip.

Vanuatu will face Samoa and Tonga meet the Solomon Islands in the final round of Group B fixtures on Sunday.

Tonga: 0
Vanuatu: 4 (Nicolas KING 5' 82', George CHICHIRUA 24', Giniho TABE 69')

HT: 0-2

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