Vanuatu United make history with 3-2 win over Central Coast Mariners in first fully professional club meeting on Vanuatu soil

Vanuatu football witnessed a landmark occasion at Freshwater Stadium as Vanuatu United defeated Central Coast Mariners 3-2 in Port Vila, in what became the first meeting between two fully professional football clubs ever staged on Vanuatu soil.

The match was already historic before kickoff. Vanuatu United were playing their first official home fixture, while Central Coast became the first A-League club to face an OFC Pro League side in Vanuatu. The two-match PacificAus Sports Challenge was organised as part of preparations for the coming season, with the return match set for September 12.

The home side could hardly have started better.

Inside the opening 30 seconds, Central Coast were caught cold after kickoff. Vanuatu United moved the ball quickly through the middle and Joe Moses finished from close range to give the hosts a dream start.

Central Coast responded soon afterwards.

A cross was flicked on by Max Naylor towards the far post, where Luke Becvinovski arrived to finish and bring the score back to 1-1.

The tempo remained high and Vanuatu United regained the lead around the half-hour mark after being awarded a penalty.

Bill Kaltack stepped up and drove his effort low towards the goalkeeper’s left corner. Dylan Peraic-Cullen read the direction correctly and went the right way, but the penalty was too well placed for him to reach, restoring the home side’s advantage.

The Mariners answered again through Ali Auglah, who produced a strong finish from inside the penalty area to make it 2-2.

Then came what proved to be the decisive goal.

Bill Kaltack helped create the opening around the edge of the penalty area and found Claude Aru, who placed a superb effort high into the left corner beyond Peraic-Cullen.

Vanuatu United went into the break leading 3-2 after an extraordinary five-goal first half.

The second half was much more controlled. Central Coast searched for another equaliser, but Vanuatu United defended with greater discipline and protected their lead until full-time.

The final whistle confirmed a result that carries significance beyond the scoreline.

It was the first fully professional club match ever played in Vanuatu, and the country’s own professional team marked the occasion by beating A-League opposition.

Much of the discussion around the game afterwards centred on the strength of the Central Coast Mariners side.

The starting XI was undoubtedly young, but describing it simply as a “second team” or an academy side does not really reflect the squad that took the field.

Central Coast themselves are entering the new season with a notably young playing group, and several of the players who started in Port Vila are part of their current senior first-team squad rather than temporary academy call-ups.

Experienced right-back Storm Roux started and remains one of the club’s most established players. The 33-year-old has made more than 250 appearances for the Mariners and missed only one A-League game during the 2025/26 season.

Lucas Mauragis also started on the left, while Harrison Steele, Ali Auglah, Dylan Peraic-Cullen and a number of other players involved are members of the wider senior squad.

The youthful nature of the side was clear elsewhere. Max Naylor, for example, is only 18 and joined Central Coast ahead of the 2026/27 season after coming through Perth Glory’s academy.

The Mariners starting lineup was:

Dylan Peraic-Cullen; Lucas Mauragis, Noah McCann, Storm Roux, Callum McCaskey; Harrison Steele, Chris Donnell; Max Naylor, Luke Becvinovski, Noah Hooper; Ali Auglah.

That means the match should probably be viewed as neither a full-strength Central Coast XI nor merely a reserve side. It was a young professional Mariners team containing several established A-League players alongside emerging members of the senior squad.

Vanuatu United’s lineup carried a different significance.

The hosts started with an almost entirely Ni-Vanuatu side:

William Tønning; Henry Namatak, Jason Thomas, Jack Wanemut, Michel Coulon; Semesi Kaltack, Claude Aru, Ryan Wanemut; Bill Kaltack, Joe Moses and Alex Saniel.

The only foreign player in the starting XI was goalkeeper William Ansgar Tønning, who brought an unusually broad range of overseas experience into the team.

The Danish-Canadian goalkeeper has played in several countries during his career. His senior stops have included Ytterhogdals IK and IFK Luleå in Sweden, AB Argir in the Faroe Islands, Hobro IK in Denmark, Napier City Rovers in New Zealand, Ängelholms FF in Sweden, KA Akureyri in Iceland and Östersunds FK in Sweden, before returning to Napier in 2026.

His presence was therefore an exception in a Vanuatu United XI constructed overwhelmingly from local footballers.

The match also confirmed the involvement of several players who had recently been seen training with Vanuatu United without their status being formally announced.

Henry Namatak, Jack Wanemut, Claude Aru, Joe Moses and Ryan Wanemut all started.

Two of them ended up deciding the match.

Moses scored inside the opening half-minute and Aru struck the winner, while Bill Kaltack finished with both a goal and an assist.

It was also a significant afternoon for Matthew Acton, who took charge of Vanuatu United from the technical area rather than appearing as a goalkeeper.

Acton served as acting head coach for the match, with regular coach Lars Hopp not in charge – which indicates the German might not be staying for the upcoming season.

For Vanuatu United, the victory represents another step in a rapid transition since the creation of the OFC Pro League.

The club are still shaping their identity as a professional side, but this match offered a particularly clear picture of what that identity could become: a professional structure built largely around Ni-Vanuatu players, supplemented selectively by overseas experience.

Central Coast’s young lineup adds necessary context to the result, but does not remove its significance.

The Mariners did not bring their strongest possible eleven, yet the players who started were not simply an amateur or academy selection. They were professionals from an A-League club, including players with substantial senior experience, and they were beaten by a Vanuatu United side that was itself still being assembled.

That balance is probably the fairest way to view the occasion.

It was not a competitive A-League match, and it was not a full-strength Mariners side.

But it was a genuine meeting between two fully professional football clubs, with professional players on both sides, played in Vanuatu for the first time.

And the first winner was Vanuatu United.

Vanuatu United 3-2 Central Coast Mariners – both sides have one more friendly to be played in Port Vila this coming weekend to finish the series.

Joe Moses opened the scoring within 30 seconds. Luke Becvinovski equalised after Max Naylor’s flick-on. Bill Kaltack restored the lead from the penalty spot, Ali Auglah made it 2-2, and Claude Aru’s superb first-half finish ultimately decided a historic afternoon at Freshwater Stadium.