Solomons in do-or-die match for gold at mini games

The Solomon Islands national football team is one game away from gold at the Pacific Mini Games in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

The team will face Melanesian rival Vanuatu in a do-or-die match on Friday.

The Bonitos beat a strong New Caledonia side 1-0 yesterday with a goal by young attacking midfielder Atkin Kaua.

Earlier in the day, Vanuatu thrashed Tuvalu 10-0.

Both teams now sit on 10 points each in the table with Vanuatu leading on goal difference.

Solomon Islands will need to beat Vanuatu to win gold in what is expected to be a tough clash between the two football powerhouses of Oceania.

If the game ends in a draw, the host will snatch the gold.

Solomon Islands’ coach, Felipe Vega-Arango, thanked his players for the win yesterday.

“I feel really proud for the boys, for how hard they worked,” he said. “I think the game was not easy against New Caledonia.”

He said the game against Vanuatu will be tough.

“We should’ve scored more goals, but we couldn’t. We need to win the last game because a tie will not be good enough for a goal differential, and we lost two key players, so it’s going to be very difficult.”

By Lowen Sei