Due the withdrawal of Tupapa Maraerenga from the group stage of OFC Champions League, the current runners-up of the tournament AS Magenta is the only club that is still to debut in the competition after the first matchday of all groups in the process.
The first group C match result in Stade Numa Daly gives Magenta a clear picture of what they need to proceed to the next stage of the competition: a simple win over the Tahitian side of AS Tiare Tahiti in front of their home crowd. The team coached by Alain Moizan knows exactly what they need to do, but the Tahitians are still alive in the tournament.
Despite suffering a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Solomon Warriors in a very close match where any of the two sides could come up with a win, Tiare Tahiti knows that a defeat against the hosts will end their first participation in a OFC Champions League. A draw is enough to maintain the hopes alive, but still they would support for a two-goal win margin of Solomon Warriors against AS Magenta in the final group match. Mathematically, a win is also not enough to guarantee a spot in the knock-out stage for the Tahitians – they will depend on the result of the final matchday in any possibilities.
Magenta will need to watch closely the wingers Tevairoa Tehuritaua and Bio Odo Chabi if they want to confirm their favouritism in front of their supports in Nouméa; but the Tahitians will certainly have a lot of trouble with the talented attack of the New Caledonians.
The likes of Kevin Nemia, Shene Welepane, Nathanael Hmaen and Fonzy Ranchain will be real threat for the Tahitian side. Instead of Ranchain, all others players mentioned helped AS Magenta to reach the grand final match against their countrymen of Hienghène Sport in the 2019 edition of the OFC Champions League. The New Caledonians smashed the Tahitian AS Central Sport in the process, as well beating Auckland City by 2-1 in the semifinal to reach the final stage of the tournament.
AS Tiare Tahiti know they will have may hurdles to overcome to beat AS Magenta – but this is the perfect time to prove why they qualified for the regional tournament and why they are playing against the team of this caliber.
The New Caledonians have huge expectations on their shoulders; an improved side from 2019 is expected to do even better than in the previous edition of the most important club football tournament of the region: to win the Champions League.
Oceania Football Center 