Tuesday was Match Day 1 for the Pacific Four Nations Tournament with all four teams competing in their first game of the tournament.
In the opening match of the day, a strong performance from Fiji saw them defeat Papua New Guinea 2-0 in what was billed as revenge for their defeat in the OFC Nations Cup Final in July earlier this year.
Goals from Cema Nasau and Luisa TamaniToakula capped off a dominant performance for Fiji with Nasau, Angeline Rekha, and Mereoni Tora all impressing for the winners. For Papua New Guinea, Faith Kasiray was excellent in goals while Charlie Yandin made some threatening runs.
Fiji ended the day on top of the table after Australia U20s defeated a plucky Solomon Islands 2-1. Goals from Avaani Prakash and Ella O’Grady were enough to overcome the away team who equalised late in the first half through Jemina David.
While Australia dominated possession and territory, the Solomon Islands stayed in touch the entire match through their strong mentality and impressive defensive play – they could even have equalised in additional time when David had a 93rd-minute chance to make the game 2-2 but dragged her shot wide.
Prakash and Shay Hollman were very impressive for Australia while David and Ileen Pegi was instrumental in Solomon Islands’ strong performance.
Training and recovery sessions continue tomorrow, Wednesday 9 November, before all four teams head to Parliament House, Canberra, where they will be guests of honour at a formal dinner
The Pacific Four Nations Tournament is played in the nation’s capital city, Canberra, where the women’s national teams of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Solomon Islands, as well as the U20 Australian team, are playing a round-robin tournament format over three match days.
The Pacific Four Nations tournament has been made possible through a partnership with the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade’s ‘PacificAus Sports’ program.
Australia and the Pacific share a rich history and deep love of sport and, through PacificAus Sports, Australia works with Pacific partners to unlock this potential further and create new opportunities for our athletes to train and compete together.
Matchday 1 results:
- Papua New Guinea 0-2 Fiji
- U20 Australia 2-1 Solomon Islands
Standings after Match Day #1 | Pacific Four Nations Tournament
Position | Nation | Goal Difference | Points |
1. | Fiji | +2 | 3 |
2. | Australia U20 | +1 | 3 |
3. | Solomon Islands | -1 | 0 |
4. | Papua New Guinea | -2 | 0 |
