Joseph Athalé: Hienghène is still alive

The current title holders of the OFC Champions League Hienghène Sport are in a hard situation in the group A of the current edition of the regional tournament; the New Caledonians lost by 4-1 against Galaxy FC from Vanuatu and draw in the late stages of the match against the hosts of Hekari United from Papua New Guinea. Hyehen goes for their final group match against the New Zealand side of Eastern Suburbs needing a strong performance to beat them by the biggest margin possible of goals to keep their chances to proceed alive in the tournament.

The key man of Hienghène, the midfielder and New Caledonian international Joseph Athalé, told Oceania Fotoball Center what happened to the current champions in the first two matches of the competition: “We lost some goal chances against Hekari United, but we were much better than in our match against Galaxy. In our debut, we were not organized as usual and did not play with our hearts – we were not warriors“, stated Athalé.

The industrious midfielder, that also can play as central defender and right-back, scored two goals for his side in the competition from the penalty spot. The mentally strong Athalé, kept focused to beat the goalkeeper Ishmael Pole of Hekari United to equalise the game already inside the 80th minute mark – the goal kept the chances of Hienghène still alive for the final matchday in Port Moresby.

“We have nothing to lose. We are going to give everything and we will see afterwards”, stated the New Caledonian international. Athalé also mentioned he feels the team will improve on their last game against Hekari United when they take on Eastern Suburbs, playing ‘as warriors’ – one strong characteristic of the champions Hienghène that went missing in the starting matches: “Against Eastern Suburbs we will fight even harder, we have to put everyting in this game“, mentioned the player.

The champions are down; but they still have a chance to raise in order to defender its crown – only the final whistle will seal the destiny of the brave and historical Hienghène Sport of Joseph Athalé.