Translation: “24 hours with North America’s poorest team”

This article, by Natalia Guerrero, originally appeared on the BBC Mundo (the Spanish-language BBC) site on 10 June 2013; all credit should be given to her. The original article can be accessed at 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2013/06/130609_cultura_haiti_espana_cronica_miami_ng.shtml
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24 hours before their game against Spain, Haiti’s national football team still doesn’t have a kit or anywhere to train. It’s raining non-stop in Miami and Haiti’s limited resources mean they’re unable to hire somewhere undercover to practice.

Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries, had sent their team to this American city to face Spain – the world champions – for the first time in their history. The incentives for setting up the clash included the presence of the Spanish superstars, the agreement that, for every spectator attending the game, $1 would be donated to Haiti, and moreover, the chance to see a classic David versus Goliath encounter.

However, the feeling of jubilation enjoyed by almost all of the 37,000 fans at the Sun Life stadium when the Haitian forward Donald Guerrier scored his country’s only goal against Spain contrasted with the team’s reality for the rest of the week. BBC Mundo accompanied the lonely Haitian team on their journey to play the world’s favourite team.

Extra Shirt

It’s 3:30 on Friday evening – the day before the game –  and the kit is due to arrive at the hotel where the team are staying. The Colombian Miguel Trujillo, the Haiti Football Federation’s exclusive agent, is feeling stressed. He doesn’t want the players or the coaching staff to arrive at the press conference without a shirt to wear. ”They have to be equal to Spain. Haiti is beginning a new era in which it won’t lack the basics. We’re not inferior to anyone,” affirms the agent.

Miguel Trujillo presents the new shirt to one of the Haitian players (Photo: BBC)

However, Trujillo has had to jump through all kinds of hoops to make sure the eleven boxes of kit arrive on time.  They come from Colombia because Saeta, a sports clothes manufacturer, agreed to sponsor Haiti with high-tech kit. Their contract with the Haitian Football Federation, according to Trujillo, will last 4 years, in which time the company will invest close to $1 million; their shirts will be sold online and through the Federation.

But according to defender Judelain Aveska, the most exciting part of the agreement is that the players are now able to exchange shirts with their opponents at the end of a game – something that was previously unthinkable: if they’d given their shirt away in the past, they wouldn’t have had a shirt to wear in the next game.

A Turbulent Week

That Friday, Haitian officials had managed to secure the use of a playing field on the outskirts of Miami. Training lasted less than minutes. The players began to form two circles, but while they filled the field with their singing and laughter, it began to hail, and they were forced to take shelter. After two hours of waiting hopelessly for the weather to clear up, Blake Cantero – the team’s technical director, of Cuban origin – was concerned; his team were unable to train, partly because of the rain and partly because they’d only arrived the day before.

“We are Cubans, they don’t give us the Visa easily,” he told us, to explain the delay, adding that the side’s fitness coach – also Cuban – hadn’t received his Visa in time for the match. Cantero asked the players to board the bus and assured us that he would get them to jog along the corridors of the hotel, because “they can’t arrive like this tomorrow.”

The two Cubans have been in charge of Haiti’s national team for little over a year; their presence in the team is based on an agreement between the football federations of the two countries which is understood as a Cuban mission in Haiti. Each one has been allocated a monthly salary of $1,000 – all the Haitian Federation can afford given it has just one sponsor. To put that in perspective, their wage is roughly 158 times what Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque earned in 2012.

Life After Death

The earthquake in 2010, which devastated the country and caused more than 200,000 deaths, instilled in the players a renewed sense  of responsibility for their country. This has resulted in an improvement in the FIFA World Rankings: Haiti has gone up 18 places in the last two years and are now ranked 63rd – above countries with economic conditions much more favourable for sport, and with more experience in international competition.

“After the earthquake, something very strong happened in the players – a positive reaction to the tragedy. We understood that we were playing not only for ourselves…now we have a concrete way of obtaining money for our country,” says midfielder Jean-Marc Alexandre.

The whole stadium celebrated Haiti’s goal against the world champions (Photo: BBC)

One of the first examples of that “concrete” method of helping their country occurred just a few days after the earthquake. The team travelled to Germany for a game; the money raised by the match was donated to the Haitian government. Almost half a million dollars were raised – money which was invested in the reconstruction of the Football Federation’s Headquarters (which had disappeared with the tragedy)  and in the building and improvement of football facilities.

The Federation now boasts its own bus and a school for children in which they’re given training, education, food and free accommodation as a way of escaping their difficult environments.

“The ball is a little round thing and it’s for everyone”

Before the game, Judelain Aveska, a defender for Independiente de Rivadavia in the Argentine second tier, forms an imaginary sphere with his hands. I ask him if he thinks Haiti can beat Spain, and he tells me – in Spanish, with an Argentine accent – “the ball’s a little round thing, and it’s for everyone”.

His team-mate Jean-Marc Alexandre, a player for American side Orlando City, agrees that the two teams have the same possibilities: “We respect them, but it doesn’t mean we can’t beat them. We’re ready and excited to play,” he told BBC Mundo. Both players are Christians, and revealed that they often pray before a match. “Before I go out on the pitch, I pray that my opponent doesn’t get injured, because an injury can end your life,” says Jean-Marc

“We’re not aliens”

Despite losing 2-1 to Spain, the Haitian players are content at the final whistle. Fans gather in front of the team bus at the stadium exit to greet the Haitians as if they’d won, asking for autographs and pictures. Minutes later, in the press conference inside the stadium, goalscorer Donald Guerrier is sat between coach Cantero and a translator. He looks happy; he says his goal was dedicated to his son, born the previous day.

Although Guerrier has been patient with the journalists’ repetitive questions, this time he decides to answer more bluntly: asked how he feels, having scored against the best team in the world, he retorts: “I’m not an alien, I’m a human and my job is to score goals if the ball comes to me. On the pitch, we’re all equal.”

With that attitude, the Haitian team left later that day for Brazil, with another friendly lined up against Italy on Tuesday.

Confederations Cup Preview: Tahiti

In this age of world football television coverage and instant internet connection, it’s unusual to have a team of unknown quantity at a major competition, but that’s exactly how Tahiti appear to many football fans looking forward to this month’s Confederations Cup in Brazil.

In fairness, it’s hardly surprising that few are familiar with either Tahiti or their players – this is the first time Toa Aito have qualified for a major tournament; they have never reached the World Cup finals, and last year’s Oceania Nations Cup victory – which earned Tahiti a place at the Confederations Cup – was the first time the country has come out on top in their region.

The turnaround in fortunes has been incredibly quick: historically an also-ran in the Oceania Confederation, as recently as 2007 Tahiti failed to even qualify for the Nations Cup, faring only marginally better than minnows Tuvalu and the Cook Islands in the qualification process. The team’s future looked bleak, and even the most optimistic of Tahitians would have ruled out any major success in the foreseeable future. Credit must be given to the Fédération Tahitienne de Football, who recognised the need for change and have managed an impressively rapid rate of improvement.

Tahiti celebrate an unlikely triumph at the 2012 Nations Cup

Their efforts culminated in the hiring of Eddy Etaeta, an ex-Tahiti international as a player, as the country’s new manager in 2010. Etaeta, only 43 himself, has successfully blooded a new generation of youngsters – over half of the squad for the Confederations Cup are aged 24 and under. Many of these fresh faces came from the national under-20 team, which had reached the U-20 World Cup for the first time in Tahiti’s history in 2009.

Inevitably, for a nation of around 250,000, Etaeta’s squad is bereft of the kind of big names that Tahiti’s Group B rivals Spain, Uruguay and Nigeria possess, but the coach has been able to make one quality addition to his almost exclusively locally-based group. AS Nancy striker Marama Vahirua, born in the Tahitian capital Papeete, has finally linked up with his compatriots, having spent most of his career in France. Vahirua is set to make his international debut at the unusually ripe age of 33, but his vast experience at Ligue 1 level should prove beneficial for a Tahiti squad lacking in knowledge of European playing styles.

His playing CV may be significantly more impressive than his team-mates’, but Etaeta insists there will be no favourable treatment in the dressing room: “We don’t have any key players. We have always put the spotlight on the bigger picture: the state of mind and being a group. For me, the star is the whole team.” Nevertheless, Vahirua looks like the side’s best bet for a goal at the finals.

A cursory glance at the remainder of Etaeta’s squad list returns the oddity of no fewer than four players with the same surname: brothers Alvin, Lorenzo  and Jonathan Tehau will all be competing for midfield places, while their cousin Teaonui has recently made the breakthrough to the senior side as a promising forward. Says Alvin, “I’m very proud to play in the national team with my family. We are a unit…I think it helps the team as a whole.”

Captain Nicholas Vallar also boasts professional experience, having spent three years at Montpellier; after spells at lower-league clubs in France and Portugal, the 29-year-old returned home in 2009 to play for AS Dragon, Tahiti’s current league champions. Striker Steevy Chong-Hue, of mixed Chinese-Tahitian heritage, similarly made the jump to Europe – joining Belgium’s BX Brussels, recently taken over by Vincent Kompany – before re-signing for AS Dragon.

Tahiti will play Spain at the Maracanã on 20 June – slightly more luxurious surroundings than their 10,000 capacity Stade Hamuta

With the 2012 Nations Cup final Tahiti’s last competitive fixture, Etaeta set up a game  in February of this year against Australian outfit Sydney FC, which the A-League franchise comfortably won 4-0. A more recent tour of Chile yielded wins over Universidad de Chile’s under-20 team and second tier Deportes Magallanes, but in their last warm-up game Tahiti were thrashed 7-0 by Chile’s under-20 side.

Results haven’t exactly been reassuring ahead of the country’s biggest test yet, then, and even the two victories are of doubtful use: the gulf in class between the Chilean second division and world champions Spain is wider than Etaeta’s grin will be if Tahiti pull off an upset or two later this month. However, the Fédération Tahitienne de Football have defended the decision to play low-key opposition, citing the need to “build confidence for the future”. Etaeta concurs: “We’re not in denial – we know 8-10 weeks of professional training isn’t going to make up for the 10 years of professionalism that separates us from Spain or Uruguay.”

However, the mild confidence-building of those wins will surely have been ruined by the 7-0 hammering which followed. Etaeta will have a huge job on his hands if he is to convince his players they are capable of taking on Xavi, Iniesta and co, and the flight to Brazil the day after the under-20 defeat was no doubt in more sombre spirits than is healthy given the size of the task ahead.

And the team’s spirit will have been further damaged by Tahiti’s disastrous 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign which ended in elimination in March – with Toa Aito having just one win and two goals to their name after six games. Upsets in Brazil, then, are unlikely, but at least Etaeta is realistic in his targets for the upcoming tournament: “to not concede any goals in a half would be impressive in itself. But above all, to score a goal would be a huge achievement.” That seems reasonable, and you have to hope the minnows have a Hollywood ending to a story no-one could have dreamt up a year ago.

Match Report: England 1-1 Ireland

The Republic of Ireland held England to an impressive draw at Wembley in a game which bore more positives for them than their hosts. West Bromwich Albion striker Shane Long nodded the visitors into the lead early on, but Frank Lampard levelled soon afterwards, and neither team was able to break the deadlock in the second half.

This was the sides’ first meeting since 1995 – that clash, at Landsdowne Road, had been abandoned after English fans began to riot. Ireland had last played the Three Lions at Wembley in 1991, and this fixture marked the renewal of an old rivalry; although a friendly by name, they game was always likely to be hotly contested with national pride at stake more than ever.

Roy Hodgson rewarded Ashley Cole recently reaching the 100-cap mark by bestowing upon him the England captaincy – a somewhat controversial decision given the Chelsea defender’s rocky relationship with the Football Association. Ireland were skippered by a much more obvious choice: Robbie Keane, by some distance the country’s leading marksman.

It was Keane who produced the game’s first shot, on 3 minutes, but his effort flew comfortably wide of Joe Hart’s goal. England responded well, dictating possession and the pace of the game, and Wayne Rooney fired a warning to the Irish with a weighted chip that dropped wide of David Forde’s far post.

Shane Long rises highest to nod Ireland into an early lead

However, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock soon afterwards with a goal from nothing. Everton full-back Seamus Coleman was given time and space on Ireland’s right, and he duly made the most of it: his brilliant cross was met equally well by Shane Long, who glanced a header over Joe Hart and into the far corner.

Predictably, the Green army in the stands were ecstatic, and their joy was demonstrated as play resumed, a plume of green smoke seeping across the Wembley pitch as the Irish continued to celebrate. Their team looked to have the upper hand – the early goal had once more brought English pessimism to the fore – but the lead was to be short-lived.

10 minutes after Long had found the net, Daniel Sturridge received the ball wide on England’s left. With little to aim for in the area, the Liverpool attacker delayed his cross. He finally whipped the ball over after spotting Frank Lampard’s late run, and the veteran midfielder was on hand to poke beyond Forde after Sean St Ledger failed to clear. It was a goal arguably deserved on the balance of play.

Sturridge’s assist would prove to be his last notable action: the striker’s first international start was cut short on 32 minutes when he damaged his ankle in a challenge with Glenn Whelan,  and had to be replaced by Jermaine Defoe. Theo Walcott did the most to provide further excitement, his searing pace allowing him to glide beyond Stephen Kelly on 38 minutes, but the Arsenal winger’s low centre was well cleared by St Ledger.

The first half ended in mild controversy when Keane had a penalty appeal turned down – England somehow managed to clear the ball backwards from an Ireland corner, and Rooney appeared to haul Keane to the floor as the visiting captain attempted to scramble home.

He’d been forced to make a change earlier in the game, but at half-time Roy Hodgson opted to further tinker with his line-up, introducing West Brom custodian Ben Foster for Joe Hart and Phil Jones for Glen Johnson at right-back. England started the second period brightly, and Rooney’s excellent chip found Walcott in space on the right; his first-time centre almost reached captain Cole for what would have been his first international goal, but Ireland defenders converged to intervene.

It would prove to be Cole’s final chance to score as captain, as he was replaced on 54 minutes by Everton’s Leighton Baines, the armband passed to Cole’s clubmate Lampard. England continued to threaten, and a quick counter-attack ten minutes later saw Defoe release Walcott in space, but Millwall stopper Forde made a good save from the winger’s low drive.

A momentary lull in proceedings followed, with Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni ringing the changes – Keane, Aidan McGeady and Whelan were sacrificed for Simon Cox, James McClean and Jeff Hendrick. The substitutions helped swing momentum back in the visitors’ favour, and Foster’s blushes were spared with ten minutes to play when he fumbled a deflected cross under pressure from Long, the referee calling a foul before Jon Walters could prod home.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain spurned two good chances for England

England responded by creating the clearest chance of the second half: Rooney feigned to shoot before cleverly sliding a ball into Oxlade-Chamberlain’s path, but the Arsenal youngster shot into the turf and against Forde’s legs. Two minutes later they sliced Ireland open again, Lampard picking out Walcott in space, but once more Forde blocked well to preserve parity.

Further substitutions disrupted the game as it drew to a close, and a draw was the fair result on the balance of play. Clearly, however, it went down better with the visitors – Shane Long’s elated celebrations at full time served to prove that. England looked assured in possession but were worryingly wasteful in front of goal, while Trapattoni will take pleasure from his side’s fine defending.

England: Hart (Foster 46); Johnson (Jones 46), Cahill, Jagielka, Cole (Baines 54); Walcott, Lampard, Carrick, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Milner 87); Rooney, Sturridge (Defoe 33).

Ireland: Forde; Coleman, O’Shea, St Ledger, Kelly; Walters (Sammon 82), McCarthy, Whelan (Hendrick 74), McGeady (McClean 68); Long, Keane (Cox 66).

Player Ratings – England:

Hart: 6 – Little to do and not at fault for Ireland’s goal.

Johnson: 6 – Offered an occasional threat on the overlap; solid enough defensively. (Jones 6 – eager to attack but no end product)

Cahill: 6  - Rarely beaten, but occasionally caught in possession or out of position.

Jagielka: 6 – Sometimes struggled with the troublesome Long, but generally sound defensively.

Cole: 7 – Determined to impress as captain. Fierce in the tackle and almost found the net. (Baines 6 – looked good in possession, but rarely able to get in behind Ireland)

Walcott: 7 – Threatened with pace, especially in first half, but failed to take chances. Promising at times.

Lampard: 7 – Scored the all-important equalizer and used possession well; dictated pace of game.

Carrick: 6 – Efficient if unexceptional. Some good defensive work.

Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6 – Poor defensively but used pace to scare Ireland on occasion. Should have scored. (Milner 5 – not given enough time to make an impact)

Rooney: 6 – Some clever link-up play from “in the hole”, but never looked like scoring.

Sturridge: 6 – Set up England’s goal but game cut short by injury. (Defoe 5 – quiet; didn’t look like scoring)

Player Ratings – Ireland: 

Forde: 8 – Some excellent saves, and could do little to about the goal. Unlucky not be Man of the Match.

Coleman: 8 – Skillful going forward and brilliant cross for Ireland’s goal. Decent defensively; given Man of the Match.

O’Shea: 6 – Sometimes wasteful in possession but defended well.

St Ledger: 6 – Could have prevented goal, but otherwise solid enough.

Kelly: 6 – Played out-of-position at left-back, but did a reasonable job on Walcott.

Walters: 5 – Worked hard, but little end product. (Sammon 4  - little time to impress, but contributed nothing of note)

McCarthy: 6 – Tidy in possession but failed to threaten England’s goal.

Whelan: 5 – Put in a shift in midfield, work was mainly spoiling rather than creating. (Hendrick 5 – little impact)

McGeady: 7 – Looked tricky, tested Johnson down Ireland’s left with mazy dribbling but dragged shots wide. (McClean 5 – failed to test Jones)

Long: 8 – Superb header to open the scoring, and was a thorn in England’s side in first half. Faded towards the end.

Keane: 6 – Quiet but some intelligent link-up play. (Cox 5 – tried hard but little of note going forward)

Oceania World Cup Qualifying: Round Six Review

The sixth and final round of the 2014 Oceania region World Cup qualifying group ended on Tuesday with New Zealand completing a perfect qualifying campaign, winning all six games, while second-placed New Caledonia recorded a 1-0 win over Tahiti. After beating the Solomon Islands 2-0 in their final group game, New Zealand will face the fourth-placed team in the CONCACAF region in an inter-continental play-off in November for a place at the World Cup proper.

Solomon Islands 0

New Zealand 2 (Payne 3,88)

Their place in the inter-continental play-off already confirmed, New Zealand boss Ricki Herbert opted to send the majority of his first-team squad back to their clubs, travelling to the Solomon Islands with a team largely made up of fringe players. With the Solomons also fielding a much-changed line-up – only captain Henry Fa’arodo and winger Benjamin Totori survived from the 2-0 loss to Tahiti four days earlier – it was destined to be a stop-start game with both sets of players unfamiliar with their team-mates.

It was Blackburn Rovers striker Tim Payne who did the most to impress Ricki Herbert, opening the scoring on three minutes from fully 25 yards. Employed “in the hole” behind the main striker, Payne would prove to be a thorn in the Solomons’ side throughout, and will surely be rewarded for this lively display with more senior call-ups in the future.

Tim Payne boosted his chances of international football with a brace

Fa’arodo provided the home side’s biggest threat, and after two free-kicks had earlier sailed over the crossbar, the midfielder managed to force Jacob Spoonley into a fine stop on 22 minutes. The strike led to a spell of increased pressure by the Bonitos, but their momentum was halted by an enforced water break as Tahitian referee Averii Jacques acknowledged the searing heat in Honiara.

New Zealand looked the sharper side after the water break, and Kosta Barbarouses came within a whisker of doubling the All Blacks’ lead when his effort grazed the crossbar just before half-time. Looking for only their second win in the group stage, the Solomons took the game to their visitors in the second half but were frustrated by a stubborn New Zealand defence showing why it has conceded just two goals in the six games.

And it was the All Blacks who had the last laugh as Payne grabbed his second of the game with just two minutes of normal time remaining, pouncing to score after Barbarouses’ shot had been blocked. Solomons coach Jacob Moli has work to do, and will quickly need to establish who his best starting XI are; his team finished bottom of the group on goal difference, conceding an average of over three goals per game.

The performances of Payne and other fringe players will have given Ricki Herbert some pleasant selection headaches ahead of the play-off in November, but it was the inclusion of one player, defender Andrew Durante, which attracted particular attention from the media. Centre-back Durante, Australian by birth, became a naturalized New Zealand citizen at the start of this month and was included in the squad for the games against New Caledonia and Solomon Islands.

With New Zealand failing to receive official confirmation from FIFA that Durante was eligible to play, Herbert understandably chose not to field Durante against New Caledonia on 22 March, but with FIFA still playing hard to get, the coach handed Durante a debut in the hope that his selection would provoke a FIFA inquiry that would accelerate their eligibility confirmation.

New Zealand would actually encourage either the Solomons or the Oceania Football Confederation questioning Durante’s eligibility in order to get the matter deferred to FIFA – as the All Blacks’ performance manager Fred de Jong says, “It’s a waiting game for us. We are waiting to see if anything has come out of the game that would instigate an investigation into Durante’s eligibility.”

New Caledonia 1 (Lolohea 85)

Tahiti 0

New Caledonia ended a fine qualifying campaign on a high after recording a narrow win over Tahiti. Les Cagous took maximum points from their fixtures against Tahiti and the Solomon Islands, but their failure to take anything from their games against New Zealand cost them in the race to finish at the top of the group.

The first half followed the form-book, with the dominant hosts only denied by a combination of wasteful finishing and good goalkeeping by Tahiti captain Xavier Samin. Aided by a triple substitution early in the second half, New Caledonia continued their pressure after the break, while Tahiti struggled to create any clear-cut chances.

Tahiti’s Stanley Atani (left) battles for the ball

Just as the game looked like ending goalless – and therefore being, incredibly, the only draw of the entire group stage – New Caledonia finally made their dominance count with five minutes left on the clock. Cesar Lolohea’s volley ensured all three points stayed in Noumea, and that Tahiti were eliminated from the qualification process with just a solitary win to their name.

With Tahiti also having been soundly beaten 4-0 by Australian A-League side FC Sydney in February, Eddie Etaeta’s men look destined to be on the end of some heavy defeats in their 2013 Confederations Cup group later this year – which also includes world champions Spain, as well as star-studded Uruguay and Nigeria teams.

Oceania World Cup Qualifying: Round Five Review

New Zealand guaranteed their position at the top of the group for 2014 World Cup qualification, and in doing so booked their place for a play-off against the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF region. Their opponents, New Caledonia, were subsequently eliminated from the qualification process, as were group stage strugglers Tahiti and the Solomon Islands, who also faced off in the group stage’s penultimate round of fixtures this weekend.

New Zealand 2 (Killen 10, Smith 90+4)

New Caledonia 1 (Lolohea 56)

Regional heavyweights New Zealand ended plucky New Caledonia’s challenge for the group stage title with a dramatic 2-1 win in Dunedin. Second-placed New Caledonia needed a win to keep their chances of reaching Brazil alive, and battled admirably being cruelly denied an admirable draw when Tommy Smith headed the hosts into an inter-continental play-off in the fourth minute of injury time.

Both sides had chances in the opening stages of the game, but it was New Zealand who struck first when ex-Celtic striker Chris Killen converted Leo Bertos’ 10th-minute corner. The early goal changed the dynamic of the game, with New Caledonia now forced to come out of their shell in order to stand any chance of grabbing the three points they needed.

New Zealand’s Tommy Smith (right) celebrates his last-gasp winner

Sure enough, Les Cagous upped the tempo, with attackers Georges Gope-Fenepej (the tournament’s top scorer), Cesar Lolohea and Bertrand Kai all looking dangerous, but on 26 minutes it was New Zealand who almost grabbed a second goal. Once more, a set-piece proved New Caledonia’s undoing, as Marco Rojas’ free-kick was met by a thundering Tommy Smith header, but the Ipswich defender’s effort bounced back off the crossbar.

The remainder of the first half progressed in end-to-end fashion; few clear chances were created, but, as half-time loomed on the horizon, Smith hit the bar for the second time in 20 minutes. A frantic goalmouth scramble in the visitors’ box ended with the centre-back toeing the ball onto the bar from close range, and New Caledonia survived until half-time with just the one goal conceded.

Les Cagous duly regrouped during the interval, and coach Alain Moizan’s team-talk had an almost immediate effect: just ten minutes of the second half had elapsed when Lolohea expertly controlled a Bertrand Kai cross on his chest before firing beyond Mark Paston, silencing the watching Kiwis in the stands.

Further goals proved elusive for both sides, and New Caledonia survived a scare in the last minute of normal time when Shane Smeltz’s penalty appeals were waved away by Australian referee Strebre Delovski, but the All Blacks were not to be denied. Just seconds remained when Smith made it third time lucky by reacting quickest to a loose ball and looping a header over visiting keeper Rocky Nyikeine.

New Zealand will be relieved to have avoided needing a result in the final game to confirm their group-stage win, but New Caledonia pushed them all the way and that is encouraging for the future of Oceanic football.

 

Tahiti 2 (Bourebare 28, Vallar 82)

Solomon Islands 0

Tahiti finally claimed their first group-stage victory at the fifth attempt, with a 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Solomon Islands. They were helped by Solomons player-coach Henry Fa’arodo naming a much-changed starting line-up – just Fa’arodo (obviously!) and Benjamin Totori survived from their last game, a 5-0 loss to New Caledonia.

Solomons’ player-coach Totori (green) tries to lead by example

The hosts began the game strongly, and it was little surprise when they opened the scoring midway through the first half when Donovan Bourebare crashed home a free-kick. Totori came closest to restoring parity for the Solomons, but Tahiti ensured their lead lasted until half-time.

The second half was disrupted by a string of yellow cards and substitutions for both teams, but it was Tahiti who came closer to scoring again. Steevy Chong Hue’s center was met by Yannick Vero, but the forward was brilliantly denied by Solomons custodian Sammy Osso. However, Tahiti sealed a deserved win eight minutes from time as skipper Nicolas Vallar beat Osso from range.

The two sides are now tied on three points with one match remaining, cast well adrift of New Caledonia and champions New Zealand. Tahiti will be reassured by a return to winning ways after their four-match losing streak, especially with the Confederations Cup in Brazil looming later this year. Solomons’ player-coach Totori has a lot of work to do on this showing if he is to turn his nation into genuine regional contenders, and his radical team selection may require several more matches to gel.

Oceania: World Cup Qualifying Preview

The Oceania region’s 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign will end next week, with the final group stage games on 22 and 26 of March determining who will represent the Oceania Football Confederation in a play-off against the fourth-placed CONCACAF nation for a spot in the tournament proper in Brazil next year.

Predictably, regional heavyweights New Zealand top the table after four games, having won every match so far, and only second-placed New Caledonia can still qualify for the inter-confederation play-off by topping the group ahead of the Kiwis. Naturally, then, all eyes will be on these two teams’ decisive clash on 22 March at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium; win and New Zealand guarantee their progress to the play-off, lose and they and New Caledonia will enter the last game on 26 March level on points.

All smiles: Gope-Fenepej has fired New Caledonia into second place

The group’s other contestants, Tahiti and Solomon Islands, have endured torrid qualifying campaigns – 2012 OFC Nations Cup winners Tahiti (who will be representing Oceania at this year’s Confederations Cup in Brazil) have lost every game, failing even to score once in the process. Seeing as this goal-shyness has been matched by an equally poor defensive record of  11 goals conceded in those four games, Tahiti could be in for some heavy defeats in Brazil if things fail to improve. Although the Solomon Islands do have one win to their name -against the hapless Tahitians, obviously – they have shipped even more goals, being drubbed 6-1 by New Zealand and 6-2 by New Caledonia.

New Caledonia’s unprecedented success has been largely thanks to the goals of Georges Gope-Fenepej, who has a record of almost a goal per game at international level since making his debut in August 2011. Gope-Fenepej netted a hat-trick in that 6-2 demolition of the Solomons, and with six goals in total he is by far the tournament’s leading scorer.  It’s unsurprising, then, that top-flight French side Troyes took a gamble on the frontman in 2012, and although Gope-Fenepej has only made one first-team appearance in his first season at the club, he has bagged three goals in nine games for Troyes’ reserve team. The 24-year-old’s impressive transfer will give hope to his compatriots and other players from a region whose stars rarely make it outside Australia and New Zealand.

New Caledonia legend Charles Teamboueon, who passed away last week

However, Les Cagous’ recent positive performances on-field have been somewhat overshadowed by the death last week of one of the best players the country has ever produced, Charles Teamboueon, who passed away at the age of 73. Teamboueon broke the mould by earning a call-up to the New Caledonia national team in 1965 despite playing in the national second division. As the man himself said, “That posed a few problems because at the time the national team was composed only of players from the first division.” However, Teamboueon emphatically justified his selection by scoring four times on his debut against German giants Stuttgart, inspiring his country to a 5-1 win.

Teamboueon opted to move to France in 1966, and within two years he had been selected for France’s national amateur team, reaching the quarter-finals of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. He retired in 1972 through injury, but was still managing New Caledonian side AS Mont-Dore as recently as 2007, guiding the club to a national Cup win that year.

Gulls Swoop for Chapell

Relegation-battling Torquay United look set to finalise deals for at least one, and possibly two attacking players before Saturday’s trip to Southend United. The Gulls this afternoon confirmed that they had reached an agreement to sign Sheffield United winger Jordan Chapell on loan until the end of the season, while just hours previously, former Torquay striker Taiwo Atieno hinted on his Twitter account that a return to Plainmoor could be on the cards.

21-year-old Chapell, able to play both on the wing and as a striker, joins straight from Sheffield United’s reserves. The youngster only made his league debut for the club’s senior side in December, and has only made one other appearance in League One this season. Finding first-team opportunities limited at Bramall Lane, Chapell was loaned to Torquay’s fourth-tier rivals Burton Albion in October, scoring just three minutes into his debut against Port Vale, just hours after the move was finalised.

Jordan Chapell joins on loan until the end of the season

Four appearances in all competitions for Burton followed, but was recalled in early December by his parent club after The Blades suffered injuries to several other wingers. This paved the way for Chapell’s league debut on 29 December in a 3-2 defeat to Hartlepool, but the youngster has been consigned to the club’s youth team and reserves ever since.

Since taking over the managerial reigns at Torquay in February, Alan Knill has preferred to use forward Ryan Jarvis on the right-wing, with Billy Bodin occupying the left-hand side of midfield. However, Bodin will miss crucial games against Chesterfield and York next week after being included in the Wales under-21 squad, and Knill may also have to move Jarvis up-front to replace the ineligible Benyon, who is unlikely to be able to face parent club Southend.

Knill revealed that his northern base helped him to spot Chapell several months ago, and was clearly pleased to have got his man: “Jordan is quick, direct and the important part is that he knows the league – he was out on loan at Burton and did really well. I live in Sheffield and when the United youth team had a good cup run, I watched a lot of their games and Jordan was one of their outstanding players,” adding that the Chapell “can play either wing or behind the striker, and he is technically very good.”

Although Torquay have yet to confirm it, ex-Gulls forward Taiwo Atieno today claimed on his Twitter page that he was “going back to Torquay”, matching Knill’s belief that the club needed to add “another new face at the top end of the pitch before Saturday”.  Kenyan international Atieno joined United in July 2011 in a one-year deal, and despite helping The Gulls to an impressive fifth-placed finish in 2011-12, scoring six times in 43 league appearances, he was released at the end of the season.

Taiwo Atieno could be on course for a return to Plainmoor

Jarvis was the cause of Atieno’s release then, with manager Martin Ling – currently absent through a long-term illness – admitting that he could only choose one of the two forwards due to budget constraints. He chose Jarvis, saying: “It came down to a flat choice between Tai and Ryan Jarvis. I feel I’ve had the peak of Tai but not the peak of Ryan Jarvis, and I feel the peak of Jarvis will be better. I only had the money to keep one of the two and that was the big issue.”

Atieno then chose to take several months out of football, returning from his half-season hiatus in late December to join a struggling but Edgar Davids-inspired Barnet side. However, the 27-year-old went on to make just four appearances for The Bees, netting his only goal for the club in the 2-0 victory over Barnet on 5 January. He left the club by mutual consent on 1 February, but challenged claims that he had been released, revealing “Due to personal reasons I have decided to take time out from football…I opted not to sign a new deal at Barnet and I chose to leave on my own accord.”

Knill had last week made room for new arrivals by loaning out wingers Saul Halpin and Karl Baker to Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division outfit Bideford Town and lending central defender Kirtys MacKenzie to Taunton Town of the Evo-Stik Division 1 South & West league. However, Aaron Downes’ red card in Torquay’s 2-2 draw at Dagenham yesterday – in which The Gulls played with 10 men for 86 minutes – and subsequent suspension means Knill may have to add another defender on loan or recall MacKenzie almost immediately.

Chapell becomes Knill’s second signing for United following the loan acquisition of Notts County midfielder Joss Labadie last week. Labadie made his debut in the 3-1 home reverse against Oxford on Saturday and scored his first goal for the club in yesterday’s game.

Labadie Loan Lends Lift

Alan Knill has today completed his first signing as Torquay United’s interim manager, adding Notts County midfielder Joss Labadie to the club’s confidence-hit squad. Labadie joins on a loan deal until the end of the season, and Knill will be hoping the 22-year-old can help United avoid the drop in a tense run-in to the campaign.

Croydon-born Labadie arrives with a fine footballing pedigree, having come through the youth system at West Bromwich Albion to sign a professional contract with the Hawthorns club in 2008. As a teenager at a Premier League club, loan spells further down the football pyramid inevitably followed, and Labadie enjoyed two stints at Shrewsbury Town in 2009. His second loan at the Greenhous Meadow was infinitely more successful, with the midfielder netting a 30-yard free-kick in his first game back at the club, and going on to record five goals from 12 league games from the middle of the park.

Unfortunately, his relationship with Shrews boss Paul Simpson was less smooth, and following a 40-minute dressing room lock-in after an FA Cup defeat to Staines Town in late 2009, Labadie was sent back to the Midlands, with Simpson explaining “I’ve been disappointed with his recent attitude.”

Labadie has struggled to break into Notts County’s starting XI this season

First-team football at his parent club remained elusive and Joss was forced to settle for temporary stays at Cheltenham Town and Tranmere Rovers, the latter stint resulting in a permanent contract in July 2010 following Labadie’s release by West Brom. Despite becoming a regular fixture in his first season at Prenton Park, and still making over 30 appearances in his second campaign, he was released by the Merseyside outfit at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Tranmere’s loss proved to be League One rivals Notts County’s gain, with ex-Torquay boss Keith Curle signing the 6 foot 3 in youngster last summer on a one-year deal with an option of a second year. Just four league starts have followed, with Labadie struggling to hold down a regular place in a talented County midfield also containing the likes of playmaker Alan Judge, captain Neal Bishop and Trinidad & Tobago international Andre Boucaud.

Although Labadie has shown signs of promise and impressed County fans in some of his 16 cameo appearances from the bench, the player appears eager to play regular first-team football, and the loan move suits both him and the club – the Magpies are thought to be looking to slash their wage bill as the end of the season approaches. With it unknown whether County will choose to keep Labadie on for another year, the midfielder will be looking to use his loan spell at Plainmoor to put himself in the shop window for League One and Two clubs.

Torquay have struggled for quality and creativity in midfield this season, with playmaker Eunan O’Kane leaving for AFC Bournemouth at the start of the season and captain Lee Mansell struggling to emulate his fine goalscoring form of 2011-12.  Manager Martin Ling, his assistant Shaun Taylor – who took over in February due to Ling’s illness – and current boss Alan Knill have generally preferred to parter the industrious Mansell with a defensive midfielder like Damon Lathrope or Craig Easton. To the dismay of the club’s supporters, Welshman Nathan Craig, believed by many to be the most creative player in the squad, has been deployed on the right-hand side of midfield (despite being left-footed) and even left out of the matchday squad in recent weeks.

Knill is thought to be looking for further additions before the visit of Oxford on Saturday

Knill will be hoping that Labadie can add some much-needed quality and help United in their battle to survive in League Two; he hailed Labadie as a “big powerful player who can also pass the ball,” adding “He has always been someone that I thought I’d like to sign and never really had the opportunity.” County have a 24-hour recall on the midfielder after an initial 28-day stay in Devon.

United’s interim boss also confirmed that Labadie, his first signing for the club, would go “straight into the squad” for Saturday’s clash with Oxford United. Further loan arrivals may also be on the cards, as the Western Morning News today reported that Knill was looking to free up wages and squad space by loaning young wingers Saul Halpin and Karl Baker to Bideford and first-year pro Kirtys MacKenzie to Taunton Town, whilst simultaneously concentrating on “another forward signing”.

BBC Sport’s Brent Pilnick similarly expects Knill to make further additions in the coming days, revealing that he believes “at least one more” player will join United before the end of the week. That can only be good news for Torquay who need all the help they can get, having gone without a win since the 1-0 Devon derby victory over Exeter City on 28 January.

Stanley Stalemate Stabilizes Side

Torquay United finally ended their mammoth seven-game losing streak yesterday, grinding out a 0-0 draw with fellow League Two strugglers Accrington Stanley. In doing so, Torquay avoided equalling an unwanted club record of eight consecutive defeats. The club have slipped down the league table since Martin Ling’s absence through illness, and their freefall began under assistant manager Shaun Taylor’s temporary reign before the board appointed former Scunthorpe boss Alan Knill in late February in a bid to stop the rot.

United are without a win since the defeat of Exeter on 28 January, and the seven consecutive losses since that game saw the side drop from a position of mid-table anonymity into the depths of an incredibly close relegation battle. Just two points now separate the Gulls from bottom club AFC Wimbledon, and although Torquay have the best goal difference of the bottom nine clubs, they unsurprisingly have the worst form of those around them.

United goalkeeper Michael Poke helps earn a much-needed draw

However, the point gleaned from the draw with Accrington – themselves only one point above the drop zone – should provide a much-needed injection of confidence into a United side that has scored just twice in their last five games (and even that goal was heavily deflected!) and provide a platform for further improvement. Supporters will be hoping that ex-Bury boss Knill can use his contacts at Everton and Manchester United to deliver the handful of loan signings necessary to freshen up his squad, but as new Plymouth manager John Sheridan has found out, attracting players to clubs based in the South West is more of a challenge than some would imagine.

Indeed, despite previously  predicting new signings to arrive before the Accrington game, Knill admitted earlier this week: “It is proving quite difficult [to sign players] but the players are definitely there. We’ve tried for about 10 players; some have said ‘no’ straightaway because the location is such that they don’t want to move.” Knill now has a full week to complete any loan deals before mid-table Oxford United visit Plainmoor next Saturday, and it is crucial that he delivers. Although goalscoring remains a huge problem, central defence cover may be a priority for Knill with key defender Aaron Downes sidelined for a further 2-3 weeks.

York have relieved Gary Mills of his duties with 10 games to go

Elsewhere in League Two, the division’s other side in freefall, newly-promoted York City, have sacked manager Gary Mills after a torrid run of 11 winless games. Mills had been in charge at Bootham Crescent since October 2010 and guided the club to both promotion from the Conference and the FA Trophy last season, but his board felt a change was necessary after this weekend’s 2-0 reverse at home to Bradford if they were to avoid an immediate return to non-league football. The club’s directors must now move quickly to appoint Mills’ successor, with York now only four points clear of the League Two trapdoor, and with limited time for the new man to turn things around.

PSL: Chippa Capture Benjani

South African Premier Soccer League strugglers Chippa United this week confirmed the signing of ex-Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari as the top flight’s bottom club attempt to avoid relegation back to the second tier.  Benjani had been without a club since being released by debt-ridden Portsmouth at the end of the 2011-12 season.

The move represents Benjani’s return to Africa at club level, having left the continent in 2001 to join Swiss side Grasshoppers on loan from his first senior club, Jomo Cosmos. The Zimbabwean almost made the switch back to the PSL earlier this season when he agreed to join SuperSport United in October 2012 following a successful trial, but the deal bizarrely broke down three weeks later; Benjani denied that his reported £60,000-a-week wages had been a stumbling block (as SuperSport manager Gavin Hunt had suggested) but instead mysteriously revealed, “Maybe I didn’t sign for a reason I don’t know.”

Benjani in action for his previous club, Portsmouth

However, having stated his desire “end my career on a high in South Africa”, Benjani continued to search for a move to the PSL, and earlier this month he began training with Chippa’s fellow strugglers Ajax Cape Town, even playing for the club in a friendly two days before Chippa swooped. Ajax may come to rue their hesitation: they sit just one point above the automatic relegation slot – currently occupied by Chippa – and need all the help they can get to pull clear.

Chippa’s decision to offer Benjani one last payday appears to be borne out of desperation to survive in their first-ever season in the South African top flight. The Chilli Boyz were only founded in July 2010, and an immediate return to the second division could see them struggle to re-gain promotion with bigger clubs such as Jomo Cosmos, Vasco Da Gama, Thanda Royal Zulu and Santos all currently battling in the second tier.

Having scored just 17 goals from their 19 league games this season, Chippa assistant manager Humphrey Sithole admitted the decision to sign Benjani was made in order to boost their firepower: “Benjani is a highly experienced striker; we have no doubt that he will help us a great deal in scoring goals, which is one department where we are still lacking.” The Zimbabwe international will provide much-needed competition among Chippa’s mis-firing strikers. The club have veteran Welcome Qalanto to thank for 7 of their goals, and their second-highest scorer is Petrus Ngebo, who has found the net just twice. Chippa had previously been reserving a foreign space in their squad for Niger captain Moussa Maazou, but abandoned all hopes of that transfer and chose Benjani instead when Maazou became embroiled in contract disputes with his current club Etoile du Sahel.

Benjani becomes the second former Premier League star to move to the PSL this season following ex-Blackburn defender Aaron Mokoena’s switch to Bidvest Wits, while one-time Portsmouth targetman Collins Mbesuma’s transferred to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2008, and Benni McCarthy, formerly of West Ham United, joined the Pirates in 2011.