PNG U20s rue 4-1 OFC loss

By HENRY MORABANG
A spirited New Caledonia side came from a 1-0 deficit at halftime to beat Papua New Guinea 4-1 in their opening Group A match.
New Caledonia now join tournament hosts, Vanuatu, who also enjoyed wins in the same group of the  OFC Under-20 Championship in Port Vila on Saturday.
Papua New Guinea coach Peter Gunemba was ruing what might have been.
“It is disappointing,” Gunemba said.
“I think we lost composure in the second half and went to sleep.
“If we had played the same way as we had in the first-half, I think we could’ve limited their chances and scored more ourselves.
“We still had a couple of good chances in the second-half and if we had put those away it would’ve been a completely different game.”
Vanuatu toppled defending champions Fiji 1-0 in a tense affair, thanks to Godine Tenene’s 61st minute strike.
While they now top the group on goal difference, New Caledonia were on the heels midway through the first-half when PNG’s impressive forward Giwi Simon caught Pothin Poma in possession and teed up Alu Awi for the game’s opening goal.
New Caledonia played recklessly for the remainder of the first-half but found reward for an energetic start to the second when Albert Watrone combined skill with tenacity and squeezed in a 56th minute equaliser past the beaten keeper and a retreating defender.
Thomas Gope Fenepej gave New Caledonia the lead from penalty spot just over 10 minutes later, and Pothin Poma made amends for his earlier transgression with an expertly-placed free kick to extend the advantage with eight minutes remaining.
Substitute Warren Houala put extra gloss on the result, with New Caledonia’s fourth goal, deep into time added on. New Caledonia’s coach Kamali Fitealeata said it was good to start with a win in their first match and it gave them great motivation going into the second match tomorrow. Group A resumes tomorrow when New Caledonia face Fiji in the noon kickoff and Vanuatu take on PNG at 3pm.