Hekari United registered its first win in the Oceania Football Champions League this afternoon against home side Ifira Black Bird FC at the VFF Fresh Water Stadium in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
The strong match ended with a 2-0 result, in favour of the visitors.
Returning from an evenly contested strong first half, young gun Yasi Yasasa netted the first goal following a free kick 13 minutes into second half. The man who is considered the next David Muta of PNG, set the tone in the second half.
Ifira Black Bird with home ground advantage came charging strong to level the score but an informed Goal Keeper Davis Tomare denied them on several occasions.
Into the final quarter of the game, Rex Naime, booted another goal to boost his side’s lead 2 – 0. Hekari held on to take the win in front of passionate Vanuatu fans.
There was a lot to admire about the PNG Team. They showed up where they could and delivered the first win. This win will be a boost as they head into the second match of O-League. This match was the only one so far that remained scoreless in the first half, saying a lot about both teams.
Despite pressure from the fans, the young and committed Hekari side stood tall to come out on top.
Hekari now sits behind AS Pirae who defeated Tiga Sport 3 – 0 earlier in the Group B match.
Yasasa, in his first appearance in O-League, snatched Player of the Match award for Hekari United.