Vanuatu’s international Brian Kaltak played all 90 minutes of the match of his Central Coast Mariners against FK Abdysh-Ata Kant in the second leg of the AFC Cup interzonal semi-final held in Gosford, Australia. His side had to fight hard to beat the Central Asian side, but ended up with a 3-0 victory that sealed their spot to the grand final match of the AFC Cup. In the first leg Kaltak even scored CCM’s goal in the 1-1 draw, but the job was finally done at home and now they advance to the grand final looking for its first ever international trophy.
Miguel Di Pizio was the man of the match scoring twice in the late minutes of the game; the other goal was scored by the Brazilian full-back Mikael Doka. Now the current A-League champions will face Lebanon’s side Al-Ahed on 5th May in a venue that is still to be confirmed.
Kaltak already created history for Vanuatu and the South Pacific as a whole after becoming the first ever South Pacific Islander to win the A-League in the last season for the same Central Coast Mariners, now he can turn also into the first ever South Pacific Islander to win an international competition out of the Oceania Football Confederation.
In the current season in Australia top-tier league, Kaltak’s side also confirmed the spot in the upcoming AFC Champions League Elite, that is the most important club competition of the continent for the 2024/25 season – AFC Cup is the second most important comepetition, but it will be discontinued from the next season being replaced by the AFC Champions League 2.
Oceania Football Center 