Raphael Lea’i is the hero for Solomon Islands with a late hattrick to beat PNG at MSG Prime Minister Cup opener

Solomon Islands’ superstar Raphael Lea’i was the hero for the Bonitos in their opener of MSG Prime Minister Cup against Papua New Guinea at Stade Numa Daly, Nouméa. Papua New Guinea, coming from a football crisis in home soil, had the opportunity to give a different view to local fans about the Kapuls. Despite being currently the title holders of the competition, Papua New Guinea’s last international match was the resounding 10-0 loss against Malaysia in friendly match.

The veteran striker Raymond Gunemba scored first for PNG at the 51st minute, but the bright of Lea’i shone strong in the final ten minutes of the game: despite being one man down after Marist’s Calvin Ohasio was sent off, Solomon Islands still managed to level through Rapha at the 80th minute and put Solomon Islands ahead at the 86th mark. The striker was always a threat and with his speed and he ran past Papua New Guinea’s defenders and scored his third – the second hattrick for the 20-year-old player donning the colours of his country.

Lea’i has now nine goals scored for the senior national team in 10 appearances; the team led by the Spanish head coach Felipe Vega-Arango will return to action this Tuesday (Oct, 11th) against Vanuatu that suffered a heavy defeat for New Caledonia by 4-0 on both sides first clash of the tournament.

Recently, the striker left his club FK Velež Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina – despite being still under contract with the European club – after being granted permission by the club to return to Solomon Islands to attend international duties. There are stills doubts regarding the future club the star striker will feature, but which is certain at this point is the gallant form the player is currently enjoying.