New Caledonia will play in the final of the OFC U-19 Men’s Championship after coming from behind to beat the Solomon Islands in Monday’s opening semi-final in Apia.
Victory also ensured New Caledonia will be one of Oceania’s two representatives at next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup 2025 in Chile.
Coach Batram Suri’s Solomon Islands side had won all three of their matches on route to winning Group A but faced a tough task in overcoming New Caledonia, who had sealed their semi-final berth with a tetchy victory over hosts Samoa.
It was New Caledonia who made all the early running, with early sighters from Paul Qaeze and Louis Brunet keeping goalkeeper Gideon Abidan on high alert.
Qaeze has been one of the tournament standouts and it was he who broke the deadlock with arguably the strike of the tournament so far.
Finding space towards the left side of the penalty area, the diminutive forward broke free from his marker and thundered a magnificent effort past Abidan and high into the Solomon Islands net.
Main photo: Paul Qaeze is jubilant after scoring a spectacular goal for New Caledonia. Photo credit: OFC Media / DJ Mills / Phototek.
Much to their frustration, however, the lead lasted a mere ten minutes.
A straightforward corner delivery found defender Gordon Iro, whose close-range header took an unfortunate deflection from close in and left goalkeeper Gabin Rachel with little chance.
The semi-final’s first crucial moment arrived with seconds left in the first half, when Solomon Islands completed their turnaround. Another corner — from the same side as Iro’s equaliser –— wasn’t dealt with by the New Caledonia defence, and Jimson Abana was on hand to pick up the scraps and fire home from 10 metres.
The game appeared all but settled within seconds of the restart when Paul Francis beat his man well and curled an excellent effort towards the far corner, only to be denied by the crossbar.
Perhaps as expected, an ever-growing physical edge entered the contest, with both sides willing to match the other’s intensity across the pitch.
New Caledonia’s probing was giving Solomon Islands a number of problems, with Abraham Morgan and Christopher Samo picking up bookings in quick succession.
Goal scorer Jimson Abana was a constant threat for Solomons on the break, with his pace and power just lacking the necessary finishing.
With two minutes of normal time remaining, New Caledonia grabbed a dramatic late leveler, as Antoine Simane pounced on a loose ball in the area following a headed knock-back to make it 2-2 and send the match to extra-time.
Rather impressively, the intensity didn’t drop as the semi-final entered the additional 30 minutes, despite the hot and humid conditions in Apia.
Fatigue was setting in, however, with a number of players requiring treatment and both sides started to look for a more direct approach with their passing.
With penalties looming, New Caledonia made the vital intervention, Kapone Xulue striking with two minutes of extra time remaining to clinch a dramatic victory.
Acknowledgement
We are grateful for the help of OFC Media in providing information for this story.
Results
Games played on Monday July 15, 2024
Semi-finals
Solomon Islands 2 (Gordon Iro 37′, Jimson Abana 45+4′)
New Caledonia 3 (Paul Qaeze 27′, Antoine Simane 86′, Kapone Xulue 118′)
*After extra time
New Zealand
Fiji
*Result to come, kick-off 2pm (NZT)
Fixture
Game to be played on Thursday July 18, 2024
Final
New Caledonia v New Zealand or Fiji
FFS Football Stadium, Apia, Samoa, 2pm (NZT)
This story was first published on July 15, 2024.
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