Tough road trip ahead for local champions Hekari

 By HENRY MORABANG

2010 O-League champion, Hekari United know they have tough road ahead of them as they start their “island tour” of away OFC Championship League matches starting Friday.

Hekari United chairman and franchise owner John Kapi Natto said the two home matches for the team were over, with only one home match to go on April 27 against the Solomon Island Warriors. 

“It will be a rough road for us,” Kapi Natto said.

He said all the team had to do now was be mentally strong and look forward to beating Ba on Saturday at their home ground, Govind Park.

It will not come easy. The Hekari players have to play smart to win the match.

“I was happy with their performance from the previous weekend against Ba but again Hekari lacked the finishing touches to find the back of the net,” he said.  

“Chances come once and our for­ward/striker or any player at the right time must score.”

Kapi Natto thanked all supporters who backed the team for the two home games. 

“It is hoped the boys do well in the three away matches. The team will have to be strong and I have confidence in them,” he said.

Defending champions Auckland City – the only team to have won both their matches – and Tahitian outfit Dragon have seized the initiative in Group B, while Fijians Ba and Vanuatu’s Amicale have the upper hand in Group A after the completion of the second round of the OFC Champions League at the weekend.

The other Group B match took place on Friday night and saw Dragon defeating Mont-Dore 4-1 in the francophone derby, while 10-man Amicale fought out a scoreless draw at Hekari.

The round had kicked off on Wed­nesday when Solomon Warriors fought back from two goals down in front of their fanatical fans to earn a 2-2 draw with Ba and deny the Men in Black an outright Group A lead.

Like Mont-Dore, Papua New Guinea’s Hekari had the benefit of starting with two matches at home.

 They were given a golden opportunity to claim all three points when Solomon Islands international Joses Nawo was sent off for Amicale in the 35th minute but couldn’t capitalise on their numerical advantage and had to settle for a scoreless stalemate, much to the delight of Am­i­cale president Jean Yves Chabod.

“We ran out of legs in the second half but we still had a few chances to score,” he said. 

“But I can’t be critical of the players because the running they did today was just great. That had a bearing on the result, no doubt about that.”