Amateurs Amicale topple AFC pros

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Amicale became the first Vanuatu side to beat a fully professional outfit when they downed 2013 Bahrain club champions 2-1 on Match Day 2 of the OFC President’s Cup this evening. It’s a coup for the amateur side as they also became the first club from Vanuatu to beat an Asian Football Confederation opponent – sending a strong message to participants in the 2015 OFC Champions League. An elated Amicale coach Jean-Robert Yelou couldn’t fault the hearty performance from his side. “Honestly I’m very happy with my boys. I think they did what we learned in the training and for me as a coach I’m happy with them,” he says. “To me the game against Busaiteen is good for us especially in terms of learning and experience.” Yelou says even the tournament itself has proven significant to the club as it looks towards the future following their historic victory. “To have OFC organise this tournament is very important for us as a team, not only for this win tonight, but also going forward in our preparations for the OFC Champions League tournament next year.” It wasn’t a simple victory however, as Yelou’s side had to come from behind to secure the three points after a 43^rd minute goal from Abdulla Budhaish gave the visitors the advantage going into break. After a couple of Amicale efforts came close in the early stages of the second half it was finally Ni-Vanuatu striker Francois Sakama who pulled his side back in line when he headed home a free kick delivered by Australian beach soccer international Panagiotis Nikas. The equaliser gave both sides a second wind as Amicale got a sniff of potential victory while Busaiteen needed to recover their slim lead. In the end it was the Pacific Island amateurs who edged ahead as a deserving Nikas went from provider to winning goal scorer as he fired a superb volley past keeper Husain Abdulla Hasan Haram. Busaiteen coach Khilifa Hamad Isa Alzayani says his side’s inability to convert their chances let them down. “We played good but they created many chances and they scored, with the difference being we created chances and didn’t score,” he says. “We tried to play with high pressing, lots of pressure and play on the ground but we missed the chances.” In the evening’s earlier encounter a goalless draw was all Cayman Island’s club side Bodden Town could manage against Singapore’s U-23. It was a terse affair from the outset with the Cayman Islanders looking to get an early leg up in the group standings while Singapore’s U-23 squad were hoping to get themselves onto the scoreboard after being held scoreless in their 4-0 loss to Auckland City on Monday. It didn’t take long for the first card to come out with Bodden Town’s Theron Wood earning a caution for his part in a tussle near touch in his own half nine minutes in. Fortunately captain Ramon Sealy was on hand to deny the resulting free kick. In fact Sealy was outstanding between the posts with a fantastic series of saves to deny the Singapore side some otherwise certain goals. At the other end of the pitch it looked like Bodden Town would get the lead they wanted when the ball hit the back of the net in one minute into additional time in the first half, only to be denied by a handball. The encounter lost some of its momentum in the second half with the substitutions starting to come in from both sides in an effort to get some fresh legs on the pitch. Singapore U-23 captain Shamil Sharif had one of the best chances to score in the 88^th minute but was again denied by the Sealy, who impressed his coach Elbert McLean with his overall performance. “Excellent, he always gives his best, he always gives 150 per cent effort always,” McLean says of his captain. “We played well but where we are from we’re not used to this kind of weather, it’s generally much warmer. But all around I think the boy played well and we’ll rest up and get ready for the next game.” McLean’s counterpart Subrami Shunmugham was disappointed his side’s improved performance didn’t translate to three points. “I’m very happy with the performance, we gave 100 per cent and created a lot of chances but unfortunately we were not able to take our chances,” Shunmugham says. “It was definitely a much improved performance this time around. We didn’t concede any goals and that was a good sign for us but I can see that we created a lot of chances in this match but unfortunately we failed to capitalise on our chances.” With the age-group side here in Auckland to gain experience, Shunmughan is confident the matches so far have done just that. “I’m sure the boys have learned and that it’s been a good experience over the past two games. They’re in different conditions against difficult opponents, stronger opponents, and they’ve learned something from these two games and hopefully this will benefit them in coming games.” The OFC President’s Cup continues on Friday 21 November with Oceania club champions Auckland City FC returning to the action against Bodden Town at 5pm before Busaiteen take on Fiji U-20 at 7.30pm. Singapore U-23 and Amicale FC both sit out Match Day 3 but will be eagerly anticipating the outcomes as they await their fate for Sunday’s play-off matches.