Solomon Islands Write History With First OFC Women's Nations Cup Crown

Scoop

2 days ago

Thrice the Solomon Islands took the lead, but twice ten-man Papua New Guinea reeled them back in to force the game to extra-time, where substitute Jemina David scored the winner to secure a piece of history.
In doing so, the Solomon Islands become the fifth different nation to win the OFC Women's Nations Cup, etching themselves into the record books for eternity.
Playing in their first-ever OFC Women's Nations Cup final, the Solomon Islands weren't overawed by the occasion and got off to a hot start under the lights in Suva.
Lorina Solosaia had scored the goal when the Solomon Islands held Papua New Guinea to a draw during the OFC Olympic qualifying tournament last year and was the first to have a say in the final.
In the 18th minute she latched onto a loose ball through the middle of the pitch, before advancing into the box and rolling a shot into the bottom left corner of the net on her right foot, handing her nation a shock lead.
It was almost two goals four minutes later, when Almah Gogoni was played in-behind the Papua New Guinea defence but Lavina Hola came to the rescue with a top save to divert the ball away from the bottom left corner of the net again.
Papua New Guinea had played in two finals before, but were clearly rocked after conceding, and struggled to settle into the game.
With ten minutes left in the first half, Keren Kalapai came close to springing them into life, smashing the crossbar with a long-range effort on her left foot.
The goal came soon after in the 42nd minute, when goal-keeper Zainab Donga spilled a delivery into the box, and Papua New Guinea captain Ramona Padio was on hand to tap the ball into the net from point-blank range to level the game.
Still celebrating the goal, it all came crashing down for Papua New Guinea almost straight from the restart though. Defender Merolyne Sali was shown a straight red card for a late tackle on Madeline Arukau on the edge of her own box, from which the Solomons attacker stepped up to convert the direct free kick into the top of the net on her right foot.
Papua New Guinea were behind on the scoreboard again, except this time they had a whole second half ahead of them with just ten players on the pitch.
Despite the odds, the defending champions still harboured belief and pushed forward in numbers in search of a response.
Captain Padio stood up again when needed most to level the final back up, scoring her second goal of the game in the 65th minute with a direct free kick that beat Donga into the top of the net, helped by the crossbar.
Locked at two goals apiece, and with the game wide open, extra-time was quick to dawn in Suva - the first time it had ever been required in an OFC Women's Nations Cup final.
Finally, Papua New Guinea began to fatigue as the realities of playing with just ten came to fruition though, allowing substitute Jemina David to pounce for the Solomon Islands four minutes into the start of the extra half hour. Played in behind by Ileen Pegi, slotted the ball past Hola to give the Solomons the lead for the third time, and for most importantly, the final time.
There was no response from Papua New Guinea on this occasion as weary legs began to get the better of them, and any efforts to get Marie Kaipu involved up top were largely restricted.
Instead, the Solomon Islands slowed the game down and managed the remainder of extra-time to seal an historic win, and the nation's greatest ever footballing achievement in the women's game.