2012 OFC Nations Cup Solomon Islands

Not to mention the amount of rain they get over there.. 

double post, god I hate the new forum.

When was the last time an NZ v. Fiji game in the islands resulted in a goal fest?

1. I hate playing fiji.

2. i hate playing in the islands.

3. i hate the oceana refs.

4. i hate that we are not good enough to beat the islands 10 nil like the good old days. 

Jesus, so your opinion is more relevant than the LotG?

A goalkeeper is not permitted to keep control of the ball in his hands for more
than six seconds. A goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball:
• while the ball is between his hands or between his hand and any surface
(e.g. ground, own body)
• while holding the ball in his outstretched open hand
• while in the act of bouncing it on the ground or tossing it into the air

When a goalkeeper has gained possession of the ball with his hands, he cannot
be challenged by an opponent.

Quality of the stream so poor, I've changed my mind and won't buy the full package (couldn't complete purchase on the e-cast site earlier today)- might just try and watch the All Whites' games here and there. Picture kept freezing.

Only able to see the last half hour in the end- we were pretty poor- same old problem of not being able to maintain possession in the midfield and sitting back and letting the opposition come at us. Actually the sort of game a physical midfielder like Tim Brown wpould have done well in (or Grant Turner in days of old) rather than Rojas or McGlinchey.

McGlinchey has yet to convince me for the All Whites. None of our strikers seemed to offer much in the second half either...A draw would have actually been a fairer result from what I saw and what the commentators said.

This tournament is going to be a hard slog for us and it could be close against the Solomons too. 30 degrees and 75% humidity apparently during the game today, so that will be the norm throughout the tournament I expect. Allied with the often erratic refereeing, it's going to be more an endurance test for us rather than a display of sparkling football...

We were unimpressive, but to be fair to expect us to go and blow opposition away in this sort of set-up is a bit foolhardy. In these kinds of games we're always on a hiding to nothing - the only thing that matters is that there is no slip-up, the scoreline and the style isn't so much important in this context.

Oh well I think its safe to say Honduras and ElSalvador  didnt give a rats ass about the all whites games. We are miles away from being comeptitive next year against the fourth place Northern/Central American team

Thats if, we even get that far.

Its 50/50 at this stage, don't give me bs about ref's,  weather conditions, we had a full squad, this was terrible, 

if ever a win left ya flat, this was it.

Ooohhhh.  Racist.

I know team like fiji have improved over the years, but so have the all whites. at the end of the day, we were lucky that we got the win. i hope that was our worst performance though. hoping for improvements in individual players.

bertos can actually get back and defend and put in a good tackle now and then. although i was always under the impression he was an attacking player? he needs to stop trying to beat players down the wing because it normally results in him just giving the ball away to the oppositions feet. i am sick of seeing that from him. of course he has  good set piece delivery too. i am just looking forward to the day one of the young players step up to take over for him.

also well done Ricki for his composure in the interview at the end of the game. i guess these guys are used to being professional and not complaing about tackles and referees. 

i must admit i was happy for fallon to be subbed on. to even the fight up a bit. oh sorry it was football right? and it wasnt a yellow. 

Looks like that next game's going to be on free as some one here mentioned.

I'm going to watch just to see if that homemade grandstand will survive.

I screen captured the 2nd half if anyone wants me to upload it. Bit laggy but its watchable

This second game seems a much better game, Totori for the nix? j/k

1st half.  1-0 Sol.

Hi Marto,

Interesting comments. Would love to hear your views of the commentary. Please contact me offline at gordonglenwatson@hotmail.com and I'll take your guidance on where we could possibly improve.

Kind regards,

Gordon Glen Watson
OFC TV commentator

The All Whites won so be greatful it was not a draw or loss.

That is that

er, no, banana skin as in slipping up. 

That was some experience  Seeing the locals building a new grandstand was just ridiculous.  Estimiate there was 16-18K there for the second game.

Still not sure if I should take a spot on the hill for the Solo-NZ game or just the media area.

Greetings from Croatia (el grapadura will recognise me :))

NZ played lousy game, I've just watched match replay. Goalie saved 3 points there with few great saves, free kick and one another great chance, Vakatalesau I think. It will be interesting to see your team against host team and 20k+ fans' pressure.

People whining about poor performance and saying that we are gonna get dicked by CONCACAF teams should think about how much of an influence the pitch, bad refereeing, the weather, the recent travel from Europe and the States, and the burden of being out and out favourites has on a team. Some of the island nations aren't as bad as everyone seems to think, and considering that they never play freindlies or anything against teams from elsewhere its really hard to say how a team like Honduras or El Salvador would go against them in similar conditions. Even from playing crappy social grades you realise how much of a leveler a bad pitch can be - technique goes out the window in such situations.  Like El Grap said on the previous page, forget about the way we won and just be happy that we won.

Will be interesting to see if they expand the grandstand throughout the tournament.

Highlights of All Whites v Fiji on You Tube (OFCTV channel):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P_dotDHMng

Highlights of all tournament games here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/OFCfootball

A selection of the dozens of amusing comments on this game posted by viewers from around the globe beneath the You Tube footage- amazing that even our AW's games go so global now (except at home in NZ where on Sky Sport at 1pm yesterday they broadcast on their three channels: a. An Aussie rugby league replay b. Welsh Golf Open c. "Mass Participation"- a road running show): 

      NZ won like Chelsea against? Barça and Bayern

      VenezuelanTroll 21 minutes ago

• Wow New Zealand?

  AustraliaFootball 27 minutes ago

  

   

• Fiji? eh?

  CelticCanuck4 1 hour ago

  

• Very Nice! It will be interesting? to watch the Highlights of such an exotic tournament. Please don't revove any videos from this tournament until it ends. Thanks!

  Averkinen 4 hours ago

  

• FORZA FIGI Support from Ukraine?

  artur0kerch 8 hours ago in playlist OFC Nations Cup 2012

  

• FORZA FIGI,SUPPORT? FROM ITALY!!

  abrakadibra 11 hours ago

  

• Tommy Smith !!! for Ipswich Town? captain!

  cheeseybeaver 12 hours ago

  

• fiji? outplayed New Zealand lol

  atown327 12 hours ago

  

• Goalkeepers really were? the difference here...

  samisindeedtheman 12 hours ago          

Stream up and running now.

Miles just said that he went out and inspected the pitch this morning, they have filled the holes with sand and it has dried out a lot, so it is looking much better than yesterday.

2-0 to Vanuatu at half time, Samoa had a penalty but it was saved by the Vanuatu keeper.

Was wondering how long it'd be before you joined us here!

Welcome!

New Caledonia down to 9 men after two terrible red card decisions from ref Chris Kerr. Miles Davies ripping into the ref's decisions, and correctly as well. It's a shame that the dodgiest ref in the tournament is a New Zealander.

I don't think we'll get dicked by CONCACAF sides - the evidence suggests we could do quite well - Jamaica 2-3, El Salvador 2-2, and Honduras 1-0, are all reasonable results and performances. 

The pitch in Honiara looks worse on TV than it is in reality. The surface is flat and the only real concern is if it pours down with rain on a consistent basis, which it seems to have let up on in the past 48 hours. I'd hate to think what it would be like if it rained during a match - let your imagination run riot there, folks. 

The bad refereeing as you put it was a theme of Match Day 3 with the New Caledonia v Tahiti match marked by two red cards, seven goals, erratic defending and a dramatic finish. I'm always loathe to go into this one as you see referees EVERYWHERE get butchered these days. If I can offer an opinion it would be that SPL, A League, ASB Premiership, EPL and UEFA refs all seem to get hammered, so its the same for everyone. I could list a fair few European referees that have raised the ire (even caused a strike in one country) of fans in other countries.

The island teams aren't as bad as you think, no. My main criticisms would be of their defensive cohesion in units, the standard of goalkeeping and approach to defensive set-plays. Even the better 'football' sides tend to have issues with defending in pairs and ultimately I think it will be this and set-plays that ensures none of them win the OFC Nations Cup and qualify for Brazil. 

Where they're strongest is in the top third where players like Bertrand Kai (NCL), Alvin Tehau (TAH), Benjamin Totori (SOL) and Roy Krishna (FIJ) operate. Further back you genuine quality in Georges Gope-Fenepej (NCL), Marius Bako (NCL) and Olivier Dokunengo (NCL). Dereck Malas (VAN), Henry Fa'arodo (SOL), Avinesh Suwamy (FIJ) and David Muta (PNG) all possess creative qualities to be admired. Individually, defenders Nelson Sale Kilifa (SOL) and Brian Kaltack (VAN) look capable of stepping up to a higher level, but the rest of the centre halves leave me unimpressed. There are a raft of wide defenders like Koriak Upaiga (PNG), Judikael Ixoee (NCL) and Angelo Tchen (TAH) who look reasonably good going forward, Tchen in particular, decent going back. None of the goalkeepers have stood out for me yet.

It should be remembered that a lot of these players gain exposure to regional football in the O-League on an annual basis, so if you've been following that competition since 2006, you'll know its worth between 6-8 matches (international club matches) per season. Throw in the South Pacific Games Football tournament (another 4-6 international matches more than the last World Cup cycle), increased matches at domestic level in harmonised leagues and cup competitions (plus the French Cup for the French-speaking territories), then the All Whites are actually up against teams that are playing more football than ever before. 

A win is a win is a win. 

Rarely do you see an OFC competition at senior level where two groups are competitive heading into the halfway point - Group A could see three teams finish with two wins and a defeat each. New Zealand's group is also tight. Fiji and Solomon Islands is a massive game with both nations sharing a 'the haves v the have nots' relationship that will be fully tested tomorrow. Expect a capacity crowd to turn up for that one. I wouldn't like to imagine what would happen if the home side lost and then needed a win in the final match with New Zealand to advance. Things could get tasty, as it were. As good a job as Frank Farina has done with Papua New Guinea, I expect the All Whites to do a job tomorrow and win the match 2-0, minimum, with the result all that matters.

Cheers,

GGW

Good read Gordon. Can you confirm that the All Whites game tomorrow is at 12pm SOLT? The NZF website has it at 4pm NZT, but the OFC website and your commentary today have it in the early slot.

13:00hr in NZ I thought?

Oh, SOLT= Solomon time, right?

Yep, we are one hour ahead of them. 

Early game Patrick. 

Will be in the stand again tomorrow.  Not sure if I will be able to get a banner up as the locals use the breaks in advertising hoardings in the fence to watch, so would feel pretty stick to block it off more.

Cheers for that, the NZF site had us playing the late game. 

Old rivals renew battle

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10810512

article about Frank Farina and Ricki.  I'm a bit nervous about this game.  Didn't the U23s have a close game with PNG during olympic qualifiers?

IIRC, it ended as a 1-0 win to us.

EDIT: I do recall correctly.

Yes, they did. Farina went with a 4-2-3-1 formation and what they lacked in penetration up front they made up for in compact defence. During that match, Papua New Guinea only managed two chances and failed to take them. I suspect this could be the order of the day tomorrow. Watch out for Kema Jack, he's likely to be the lone striker. If Farina is feeling adventurous, he could play Jack with Raymond Gunemba who has a rare turn of pace, just in behind. The centre halves are dicey and we'll get opportunities there, unless Farina places two holding midfielders in front that turn it into a back six. The goalkeeper is also a risk. 

Fiji v Solomon Islands is huge. If Fiji beat the hosts, it sets up a do-or-die showdown between the All Whites and the host nation. Conceivably, you could get three teams with two wins, one loss, six points and a group decided on goal difference, providing Solomons have enough in the locker to tip New Zealand over, say, 1-0. Group A, containing Tahiti, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Samoa, is almost exactly the same, although I can't quite see Tahiti losing to a Jekyll and Hyde Vanuatu. New Caledonia will get pulses racing as they try to destroy Samoa in a goal deluge. 

Cheers,

GGW