Fiji football’s OFC Men’s Nations Cup jinx continues as the Digicel Fiji Bula Boys were beaten by a tactical Vanuatu side in the semi-final yesterday.
The co-hosts advanced to the final for the first time in 51 years with a 2-1 win over Fiji at the Freshwater Stadium in Port Villa.
The result means that Fiji has yet again failed to reach the final of the tournament with the best finish coming in at third place back in 2008.
Fiji had their chances early, but goalkeeper James Iamar denied Filipe Baravilala, Setareki Hughes and Thomas Dunn with crucial saves.
A counterattack by Vanuatu saw Dunn penalized for a foul on speedy Godine Tenene while he was surging desperately in defense.
Bong Kalo couldn’t hit the mark with Isikeli Sevanaia Junior reading his 10th minute penalty attempt well.
However, Vanuatu was not to be denied again just a minute later when Jonathan Spokeyjack netted a beauty of a goal inches away from the 18-yard box as Fiji failed to clear the ball following Sevanaia’s penalty save.
Hopes were restored when Nabil Begg delivered a cross to Roy Krishna who set up Sitiveni Cavuilagi for the equalizer with less than a minute of play.
But the game took another turn when Vanuatu’s Jason Thomas slithered through with a header to put his side back in front.
The Fijians struggled to find any real spark with the closest call coming in from Begg, but goalkeeper Iamar was on the money with his saves, dashing any hopes of a comeback.
Fiji will face Tahiti in the third-place playoff on Sunday at 12pm while Vanuatu faces New Zealand in the final at 4pm.
