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Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek
Samoa won a hard-fought 3-1 against Papua New Guinea in their opening match of the Oceania Football Association U-19 Men’s Football Championship in Apia.
Papua New Guinea should have taken the lead five minutes into the game. Striker Johnson-Bell had an easy chance to score, but his shot from just metres out went over the crossbar.
German forward Pharrell Bennett was a constant in the Samoan attack, causing problems for the Papua New Guinea defence, but for the most part they were able to deal with him well.
In hot and humid weather conditions, neither side found it difficult to gain an advantage in the first quarter, nor did either side really test the other side’s goal.
The breakthrough came just before half-time when Samoa captain Traynor showed composure to control a cross before calmly firing the ball into the net from Daniel Sakola.
Traynor almost scored a second goal within two minutes, showing great creativity by firing the ball towards goal with his heel, but Sakola managed to save it from the bottom line.
At the other end, Papua New Guinea’s Jason Goble-Lott also had a chance. He took advantage of the home team’s counterattack, dribbled into the penalty area and shot, but was blocked by Joel Batley with strong hands.
Samoa got the second half off to the perfect start as Trainor doubled the hosts’ lead by picking up the ball outside the 18-yard box, dribbling past two Papua New Guinea players and firing the ball into the bottom corner.
However, Papua New Guinea struck back quickly and the hosts failed to defend well, allowing Nalau Moses to break through the defence. His shot was deflected by the defender and flew into the goal.
The remainder of the second quarter was a fierce battle, with both teams attacking relentlessly, knowing the importance of getting off to a good start in the OFC U-19 Men’s Championship.
Juan Gobier made it uncontested with a powerful shot in the final stages of the match. He could have added another goal in stoppage time, but his lob went wide of the crossbar.
Samoa’s win sets up an exciting clash with New Zealand on Tuesday, while Papua New Guinea will look to bounce back against New Caledonia.
Samoa: 3 (Farrell Traynor 38′, 47′, Juan Goby 82′)
papua new guinea: 1 (Nalau Moses 50′)
Hartford 1-0
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