OFC Nations Cup: Fiji sends strong statement after humbling Papua New Guinea

Fiji gave their fans plenty to cheer about following a dominant 5-1 victory over Papua New Guinea in their opening Group B match at the OFC Men’s Nations Cup in Suva. The home crowd at ANZ Stadium witnessed an electrifying performance from Rob Sherman’s side, who made an ideal start to their campaign and significantly boosted their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.

The action started swiftly, with Auckland City’s Nabil Begg breaking the deadlock less than two minutes into the game. Begg’s pace proved too much for the Papua New Guinea defense as he drove forward and lashed his effort high into the net, leaving goalkeeper Ronald Warisan with no chance.

Despite Tommy Semmy’s hard work upfront for Papua New Guinea, Warren Moon’s team struggled to test Fiji goalkeeper Isikeli Sevanaia throughout much of the first half. Fiji, on the other hand, continued to press, with Tevita Waranaivalu nearly doubling the lead in the 20th minute, firing just over from the edge of the area.

Fiji’s Thomas Dunn thought he had scored the second goal in the 27th minute, but his close-range effort was ruled out for offside. Defender Scott Wara then went close twice in quick succession with headers from Waranaivalu corners, but was denied by a goal line clearance and an acrobatic save from Warisan.

The second goal finally came before half-time, with Begg again causing trouble for the Papua New Guinea defense. His deflected cross found Dunn, who nodded in from six yards out.

Dunn added a second goal just seven minutes into the second half, converting from close range as Papua New Guinea failed to pick him up following a low cross. Moments later, Setareki Hughes’ effort from the edge of the box took an unfortunate deflection off Alwin Komolong, wrong-footing Warisan and adding a fourth for Fiji.

Roy Krishna then got in on the action, finishing confidently after a through ball by Mosese Nabose, making it 5-0. Komolong almost redeemed himself in the 74th minute with a header that just missed the mark.

In the final moments of the game, Papua New Guinea managed to spoil Fiji’s clean sheet. Lee-Navu Faunt’s beautiful through ball found Tommy Semmy, who slotted the ball low into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Fiji will now face Samoa on Wednesday night, while Papua New Guinea will look to rebound against Tahiti earlier that same day. The victory sets a positive tone for Fiji’s campaign, giving their fans plenty of optimism for the matches ahead.