An upset in Suva as the Vanuatu women’s football team defeated Fiji who were undefeated in Group B, after the first two rounds of the OFC Women’s Nations Cup.
The match started at a slow pace on a cool evening until Fiji’s star player Trina Davis made a couple of clean breaks along the flank. Fiji looked dangerous as Davis and Cema Nasaucombined in search of something special.
But with captain Jotivini Tabua sent off in the 19th minute, Fiji was forced to work extra hard against a skilled and strong Vanuatu side.
Vanuatu’s golden girl Leimata Simon was designated to mark Trina Davis and the two battled constantly for possession.
Vanuatu varied their attacking strategies and soon Fiji was beginning to feel the stress of the numerical disadvantage. Gaps started to appear in Fiji’s defence line and in the 31st minute, Simon capitalized with a fantastic strike. With that effort she became the top goal scorer of the tournament.
Fiji still fought hard the rest of the game with Nasau and Davis making several close shots.
Vanuatu Goalkeeper Amelia Reddy was sharp and reacted quickly with a player of the match performance by Reddy.
Fiji’s rising star Anisha Dwarka came on in the 76th minute to try and lift her side’s performance but by then Vanuatu had changed tactics and slowed the ball down each time they hadpossession.
Vanuatu’s tactical approach paid off and the match ended 1-0 in their favour.
Despite winning this encounter, Vanuatu failed to qualify for the semi-finals.