Women's football wows the crowd despite Vanuatu's scoreless draw

A double-header of women’s football attracted a large and vocal crowd to Korman Stadium on Thursday evening.

The showpiece of the night was a tough match between front-runners Vanuatu and Fiji that ended 0-0.

Vanuatu had been looking to build on their 5-0 opening win over Solomon Islands, while Fiji had recorded the same score over Tonga in their opener.

However this match proved a far closer contest. Both teams were very strong and had several chances.

The crowd cheered wildly with Fiji, as well as the home side, drawing strong support.

In the earlier match, Tonga defeated Solomon Islands 3-1 to the delight of Tonga’s excitable fans.

Mele Akolo opened the scoring for Tonga in the 29th minute before Solomon Islands hit back through Elise Kwoaetolo to level matters at half time.

Akolo netted a second after the break to give Tonga a 2-1 lead, and captain Penateti Feke made it 3-1 with a late goal.

Tonga’s coach Tiane Koaneti said: “We really needed a win today, just to keep us on the run. Of course we course put up a good fight out there, and it paid off at the end of the day”.

In the final games to decide the medal match standings, Tonga face Vanuatu on Monday evening at Korman, while Fiji take on Solomon Islands on Monday afternoon at Port Vila Stadium.

 

 

Photo source Van2017